Arrest in flagrante delicto and higher penalties for attacks on headmasters and teachers

Schools played a major role in the Council of Ministers meeting on Wednesday, 30 April. With no less than four measures by Giuseppe Valditara: two Presidential Decrees on student conduct and assessment, which received the green light from the government and then returned to the Council of Ministers after the requisite opinions, and two Ddl dedicated, respectively, to the need to obtain the informed consent of families on all school initiatives (curricular and otherwise) related to sex education and the tightening of penalties for those who assault school personnel.

The latter measure, in addition to an aggravation of penalties (from 2 to 5 years) for those who cause injuries, even if not serious, to managers, teachers and Ata collaborators, introduces the compulsory arrest in flagrante delicto for those who cause personal injuries to managers and teachers in the performance of their duties. The bill, which will then have to be approved by Parliament, comes a little over a year after the entry into force of the Sasso law on aggression at school, thus completing the crackdown desired by the League to repress violent behaviour by pupils and (above all) parents.

The tightening also concerns sex education. Talking about sex at school will in fact require the informed (and prior) consent of families. The new regulations, which also in this case will have to be approved by the Houses of Parliament, introduce the obligation for institutions to obtain prior informed consent in writing, both for extracurricular activities and for activities to broaden the educational offerings that may be envisaged in the three-year plan (Ptof) that deal with issues in the field of sexuality. Not only. In the case of the involvement of external experts, a resolution of the board of teachers will also be required, subject to authorisation by the school board.

Two Prime Ministerial Decrees implementing Law 150 of 2024 on student assessment and behaviour also arrived in the Cdm. They start with suspensions, with amendments to the Statute for Secondary School Students. Firstly, the situations that justify the expulsion of a student from the school community are broadened: in addition to the cases, already provided for by the regulations, of offences that violate human dignity and respect for the human person or endanger the safety of persons, violent and aggressive acts against school staff, students and students have also been added. Moreover: in the event of a suspension from lessons of up to two days, the class council decides, with justification, on in-depth activities aimed at reflecting on the consequences of the behaviour that led to the disciplinary measure. For periods of removal between three and fifteen days, the class council assigns the student active citizenship and solidarity activities, linked to the Ptof.
The second DPR intervenes instead on conduct. It is established that the conduct grade, awarded in the final examination, refers to the entire school year, especially in the presence of episodes of violence or aggression towards school staff, students and pupils. In the case of a six in conduct (even in the case of all positive marks in the curricular subjects), the class council suspends the judgement for admission to the next class and assigns a critical essay on issues related to active and solidarity citizenship, to be developed on themes linked to the reasons that determined the behaviour mark awarded. In the event of a conduct grade below six, the student fails. Such a resolution may also be adopted in the presence of behaviour constituting serious and repeated disciplinary misconduct, acts of violence or aggression against school staff, students; and for violations provided for by school regulations.