Spain’s government has vowed to challenge the regional government of Murcia in court if it proceeds with a plan that allows parents of primary and secondary school children to veto their children’s attendance in classes designed to raise students’ awareness about sexual diversity and gender equality.
Speaking after a cabinet meeting of the Consejo de Ministros on Friday, Spanish Education Secretary Isabel Celaá said that legislation in Murcia to allow a parental veto over attendance in the diversity and equality classes is illegal under Spain’s national education laws and that it assumes jurisdiction over Spain’s educational system that is reserved under the Constitution for the national government.
Celaá said that the government of President Pedro Sánchez has taken the first step of putting the Murcian regional government on notice to withdraw the legislation and that if it does not the region will face court action.
► News Sources: El Diario, Público and 20minutos …
The parental veto is popularly dubbed the ‘parental PIN’ because of its similarity to parents’ ability to block objectionable content for their children on television and electronic devices. The plan was first put forward in Murcia by the ultra-right VOX party, which demanded that the governing conservative Partido Popular adopt the measure or face withdrawl of VOX support in the regional legislature, torpedoing the regional budget and causing the PP government in Murcia to fall.
Both the PP and centre-right Ciudadanos parties acquiesced to the VOX demands in Murcia, where the parental veto is currently in place. But, faced with demands that the ‘parental PIN’ be extended to other other regional communities where the PP holds power with support from VOX and Ciudadanos, cracks are showing in the initial tri-party support for the idea.
At the weekend, PP President Pablo Casado reaffirmed his unflinching support for parents’ right to cherry-pick which classes their children will attend or not, based on the parents’ preferences. But, faced with VOX pressure to roll out the plan in other regions, Ciudadanos’ support began to waiver as it became clear that the Murcian government may have overstepped its bounds and implementation of the ‘parental PIN’ may indeed be illegal under Spanish law.
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