The PP and Vox on Thursday announced a new law on multilingual education titled “educational freedom,” which will modify the current framework implemented by the Botànic and already altered by the latest accompanying law. Specifically, the secretary-general of the PP, Juanfran Pérez Llorca, together with the party spokespeople and Vox in the Corts, explained that the measure would restore the emphasis on both Castilian and Valencian as the base languages, restoring what has been called the “base language,” and would also allow students to choose the language for non-language subjects. (Source: local parliamentary briefings)
Thus, according to their explanation, when families enroll a child in a new Early Childhood Education center they will indicate their choice of base language through an online survey. Once the percentage of families opting for each base language is known for every grade and school, the number of groups available in each base language will be determined. This percentage will be updated annually at the start of each new phase of schooling, including Early Childhood Education, the first year of Secondary Education, and the first year of Baccalaureate. (Source: party statements)
They also argued that the new law will promote Valencian without imposing it. As Llorca noted, this would be done by issuing automatic certifications as students progress through their courses. An A2 certificate would be awarded after completing six Valencian courses in Primary Education; a B1 certificate after four Valencian courses in ESO; or in three ESO courses and one Baccalaureate year, a B2 certificate would be earned after completing two Baccalaureate years with an average Valencian grade of seven or higher, or by achieving seven or higher on the university entrance Valencian exam. (Cited by party spokespeople)
These provisions, according to the popular and Vox representatives, will take effect in the 2025/2026 academic year, although some elements will enter earlier, in 2024/2025, such as the certifications. The reason for not launching all parts next year is that they still require ordinary parliamentary processing, and schools are already in the enrollment period. (Source: parliamentary updates)
Another notable change will be that students may choose to take exams in either Castilian or Valencian for subjects that are not language-based. This refers to subjects that historically were delivered in a single language, such as Mathematics, Knowledge of the Environment, or Physics, which were taught in one language due to the mandated percentage in the law. (Source: policy briefing)
These shifts represent a broader move to recalibrate language use in the classroom, balancing linguistic heritage with practical needs for students. (Source: administrative summaries)