Canary Islands approve a school coexistence decree with a student ombudsman

The Government of the Canary Islands has approved Decree 169/2026, of October 30, which regulates school coexistence and promotes well-being within the educational sphere of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands. The regulation is published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (Boletín Oficial de Canarias) no. 223, of November 9, 2026, in section I (General provisions), under number 3844 and starting on page 40256. It will enter into force 20 calendar days after its publication and replaces Decree 114/2011, of May 11.

The text is signed by the President of the Government, Fernando Clavijo Batlle, and the Councilor for Education, Vocational Training, Physical Activity and Sports, Hipólito Alejandro Suárez Nuez, and was approved following the Executive’s deliberation on October 30, 2026. During its processing, the School Council of the Canary Islands was heard, and Opinion no. 337/2026, of September 17, from the Consultative Council of the Canary Islands, was taken into account.

The regulation is deployed across 53 articles organized into four titles: general provisions; management of coexistence and promotion of well-being; rights and duties of the educational community; and behaviors contrary to coexistence, preventive and corrective measures, and procedures. Its scope covers non-university educational centers of public ownership and private centers funded with public funds.

A student ombudsman in each Territorial Directorate

The regulation develops the defense of students’ rights through a support and advisory body whose responsible person will be the student ombudsman, acting independently. There will be a person responsible for this body within the scope of each Territorial Directorate of Education, appointed by the head of the Department for a period of four academic years, renewable for another period of equal duration.

The main requirements and functions are:

• To be a career civil servant from any of the teaching bodies stationed in the Canary Islands, with at least five years of teaching experience.
• To process and follow up on complaints or claims regarding the breach of students’ rights, and to report annually to the corresponding Territorial Directorate.
• To inform and advise students on their rights and duties and promote their participation in the center.
• To admit complaints from any student and their legal representatives, except those relating to academic evaluation.

The ombudsman may not be subject to disciplinary proceedings, sanctioned, or transferred due to opinions or acts carried out in the exercise of their functions, and their actions shall be subject to the duty of confidentiality.

Mild, serious, and very serious behaviors

Title IV defines behaviors contrary to coexistence across three levels and regulates the applicable measures. Very serious behaviors include school bullying and cyberbullying, gender-based and sexual violence, physical aggression, the unauthorized recording and dissemination of images, identity theft, and the misuse of artificial intelligence systems to create or disseminate false or manipulated content that harms the dignity of members of the educational community.

The established deadlines are:

• Measures must be applied within a period not exceeding 3 school days.
• Statute of limitations for behaviors: 3 months for minor, 6 for serious, and 9 for very serious.
• Statute of limitations for corrective measures: 6 months for minor and serious, and 9 months for very serious.
• Suspension of the right to attend subjects: up to 3 school days for serious behaviors and from 3 to 10 days if aggravating factors are present.
• Suspension of attendance at the center for very serious behaviors: from 11 to 20 school days, without loss of continuous assessment, and possible temporary or permanent disqualification from the center.

In cases of special gravity, the Department will bring the facts to the attention of the Public Prosecutor’s Office, and the disciplinary procedure will be suspended if criminal proceedings are initiated. Students with specific educational support needs have specific considerations and reasonable adjustments in the application of measures.

Mediation, coexistence classroom, and Observatory

Centers must include strategies in their Coexistence Plan such as school mediation, restorative practices, peer support systems, affective tutoring, coexistence playgrounds, emotional education, and a coexistence classroom or space for the temporary educational care of students. Formal mediation, conciliation, intervention against bullying and cyberbullying, and intervention against gender-based violence procedures are also regulated, with immediate notification to the Education Inspectorate.

The decree creates the Canarian Observatory for School Coexistence, a collegiate advisory body attached to the Department, with functions of advising, proposing, evaluating, and disseminating best practices, which will publish an annual report with aggregated data and indicators and collaborate with the School Council of the Canary Islands. Centers will send their annual Coexistence Plan report to this body to be integrated into the regional report.

The regulation grants a maximum period of one year from its entry into force for centers to review and update their internal regime regulations and coexistence plans, and maintains the protocols for school bullying, gender-based violence, suicide risk, and child protection in force until their update.

The application of the new framework affects students, families, teaching staff, administrative and service personnel, and management teams throughout the Canary Islands, who must adapt their internal documents and intervention procedures in the following academic year to a regime with fixed deadlines, reinforcement of teaching authority, and alternative routes to disciplinary proceedings.

Source: Official Gazette of the Canary Islands, no. 223, November 9, 2026, section I. General provisions, p. 40256 (official reference: no. 3844; decree 169/2026).