A group of 300 school principals files an appeal against changes to teacher assignments.

BarcelonaThe agreement that the Government is going to to reach an agreement with CCOO and UGT regarding improvements to teachers' working conditions And the situation in classrooms continues to cause controversy. Specifically, the part of the agreement that aims to reduce the number of designated positions to 3% and drastically limit the cases in which a school principal can conduct an interview to choose which teacher will work at the school based on the educational project. This Wednesday, the Professional Association of Educational Managers (Axia) filed an appeal (an internal procedure within the Department of Education) against the March 3rd resolution—approved by the Government before signing the agreement with the unions—which defines how teacher assignments will be made and how teachers will be assigned to each school. According to Axia, which represents up to 300 school principals, the resolution constitutes a "clear and unjustified violation" of the current legal framework. Furthermore, they assert that it represents a setback for the autonomy of educational institutions and accuse the Department of Education of imposing a "restrictive, arbitrary, and technically unfounded" interpretation of the regulations. "The agreement and the resolution regarding teaching assignments violate the Catalan Education Law (LEC), the decree on school autonomy, the decree on staffing, and the decree on school leadership," denounces Jordi Satorra, president of the association of school principals. Among the arguments Axia uses to urge the Government to rectify the situation is the fact that the resolution includes a "prohibition on proposing temporary staff"—when a principal proposes that a teacher already at the school, but on a temporary contract, be allowed to continue teaching the following year—and the "limitation of the role of school principals," since, according to the principals, limiting their capacity to manage teaching teams is detrimental. Axia also denounces that the changes in the allocation process will have a "direct impact on staff stability, with negative consequences for the quality of education." Furthermore, they assert that there is a "lack of motivation and technical coherence" in several aspects of the resolution. For all these reasons, the association demands the "immediate rectification of the resolution and its adaptation to the current legal framework" and, if necessary, the precautionary suspension of the regulation "to prevent harm to schools."

So what now?

As Satorra explains, the action taken by the school administrations this Wednesday is not a legal challenge. "It's an appeal for reconsideration to the competent body that issued the award, which is the Department of Education," the director clarifies. In fact, Axia hopes the situation won't escalate further. "We want the department to give us a response and address our requests, either partially or fully," Satorra asserts. However, he also warns that if there is administrative silence and the Department of Education doesn't take action, they will file an administrative appeal in court. "We want to reach a consensus to have effective autonomy and be able to develop a project based on the reality of each school, in order to offer the best to all students," Satorra insists. Beyond filing the appeal, Axia also criticizes the fact that they have requested a meeting with the Department of Education three times since February and have still not been given a date.