Canary Islands legally shields the public authority of teachers and their legal protection

The Parliament of the Canary Islands has approved Law 8/2026, of October 30, on the recognition of authority and support for the teaching staff of the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands, which grants teachers the status of public authority and the presumption of veracity in their actions, and guarantees them legal and psychological assistance. The regulation was promulgated by President Fernando Clavijo Batlle and is published in the Official Gazette of the Canary Islands (Boletín Oficial de Canarias) no. 227, of November 12, 2026, in section I (General Provisions), document no. 3912. Its entry into force is set for the day following its publication, that is, November 13, 2026.

The law consists of three chapters, three additional provisions, and two final provisions. The preamble justifies the legislative intervention on the grounds that neither Law 6/2014, of July 25, Canary Law on Non-University Education nor the basic state regulations systematically incorporate the conceptualization of the teacher as a public authority, and that Decree 114/2011, of May 11, addressed this issue from the logic of coexistence and not from the authority of the teaching staff itself. The text is complemented by Decree 169/2026, of October 30, which regulates school coexistence and educational well-being and was published in the gazette on November 9.

Status of public authority and presumption of veracity

Article 6 establishes that directors, other members of the management team, and teaching staff shall have the status of public authority in the exercise of their governing, teaching, educational, and disciplinary functions, with the effective protection that the legal system recognizes for such status. Article 7 adds that the facts established by teachers and management teams in the procedures for adopting corrective measures shall have evidentiary value and shall enjoy a presumption of veracity iuris tantum, without prejudice to the evidence that students may provide.

The statement must reflect the facts in a clear, precise, and documentary manner, with data and factual elements verified by the official issuing it, and exclude subjective assessments, legal classifications, opinions, or value judgments.

Free legal and psychological assistance

Article 8 obliges the educational Administration to provide free, immediate, and specialized psychological and legal assistance in cases of aggression, threat, coercion, harassment, cyberbullying, or conflict, and to cover civil liability derived from professional practice. Legal assistance shall include representation and defense in court, both inside and outside the school premises, when the facts derive from the legitimate exercise of functions and there is no conflict of interest with the Administration.

The scope of application consists of non-university centers supported by public funds, and includes spaces in hospital centers, juvenile reform centers, and penitentiary centers, as well as tasks outside the premises linked to teaching, complementary, extracurricular activities, transport, and school dining halls. The law also covers acts contrary to the physical or moral integrity of the teacher committed in the digital sphere.

Support measures and limits in subsidized schools

Article 11 lists the measures to be adopted by the competent department for Education:

• Create an administrative unit for attention, protection, and counseling for teachers facing conflicts.
• Develop action protocols to coordinate the protection and support of teaching staff.
• Train and inform teachers regarding authority, rights, and legal protection.
• Promote a teaching career with labor and remunerative improvements, and specifically recognize the work of management teams.
• Reduce the bureaucratic burden and simplify administrative procedures.
• Reward excellence and special effort throughout professional life.

The second additional provision limits the scope in private subsidized centers: the status of authority will be recognized exclusively for the purpose of guaranteeing the provision of the public educational service, and legal and psychological assistance as well as civil liability coverage do not extend to them. The third additional provision extends some measures—use of spaces and means, legal and psychological assistance, protection, and reparation of damages—to the administration and services personnel dependent on the education department.

Institutional support as the axis

The law also requires centers to obtain from families and legal representatives of students the necessary collaboration for the exercise of the educational function and for the application of coexistence rules, and obliges students to repair damages caused to facilities, equipment, and belongings. When the facts may constitute a criminal offense, the educational Administration shall bring them to the attention of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.

For the Canary Islands educational community as a whole, the regulation means converting support for teaching staff into legal rank, with direct effects on thousands of non-university teachers and on families, who assume by law the duty to respect and ensure respect for the authority of the teaching staff in centers supported by public funds.

Source: Official Gazette of the Canary Islands, no. 227, of November 12, 2026, section I (General Provisions), page 41049 (official reference: Law 8/2026, of October 30; document no. 3912).