Court rules against law forcing Catalan government to pay private Spanish schooling

The Spanish Constitutional Court has not accepted the measure that compelled the Catalan government to pay 6,000 euros to families wanting their children to be taught in Spanish, at private schools. In Catalonia, the language of instruction is Catalan in the public school system.

The measure was part of a program put forth in 2013 by former Spanish minister José Ignacio Wert. As public schools in Catalonia are taught mainly in Catalan (although Spanish, English, and other languages are also used), Wert’s proposition (known as LOMCE), would have forced the Catalan government to give out 6,000 euros in financial aid for parents to pay for private education in Spanish.

However, the court ruled that this would implicate the Spanish government interfering excessively within the competencies of Catalonia’s Department of Education. This ruling is the last episode in a series of discussions regarding the use of Catalan—Catalonia’s official language—in schools, including the recent mention by Spain’s ruling Partido Popular that they would be including Spanish as an option for primary teaching use in Catalan public schools.