The Department of Education has released the draft decree on positive coexistence for public information

The Department of Education has released for public information the draft decree on positive coexistence and safe environments; it will affect both public and private contracted centers outside of universities. The procedure is initiated by the Resolution of October 19, 2026, of Mikel Juaristi Izagirre, Director for Diversity and Inclusion. The regulation was published in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country (BOPV) on November 5, 2026, under number 2026/4679, in the section of other provisions.

The project has been written with the intention of replacing Decree 201/2008 of December 2, 2008, regarding the rights and duties of students. According to the Department of Education, the frameworks of that time provided “legal security” to schools, but the “social, technological, and educational changes” since then, and the need to strengthen emotional well-being, demand an update. The new reference is Law 17/2023 of December 21, 2023, on Education of the Basque Autonomous Community: in it, positive coexistence, inclusion, equity, peer education, and socio-emotional well-being are included as guiding principles of the educational system.

A single framework and a restorative perspective

The new text maintains the educational objective, but proposes a “more preventive, inclusive, restorative, and more accountable model.” To this end, it gathers the rights and duties of the educational community, coexistence structures, planning tools, preventive and educational intervention measures, and the necessary coordination mechanisms into a single regulation.

The ideological basis of the decree has four pillars: good treatment, the integral protection of children and adolescents, the participation of the educational community, and a restorative as well as systemic-ecological perspective. Starting from this, educational responses focused on responsibility, reparation of harm, and the restoration of relationships are established, with the desire to move beyond a punitive perspective.

Strengthening BAT groups and the coexistence observatory

The new regulation reorganizes structures that are already operational, with explicit reference to:

• BAT groups (groups for positive coexistence), to prevent conflicts and detect risk situations.
• The coexistence observatory, to provide a general overview of the system.
• The experience of the Bizikasi initiative, as a source of knowledge accumulated by schools.

In this way, tools proven in practice in recent years are elevated to the regulatory level. The text of the decree specifically mentions activities that have helped repair harm and strengthen community bonds.

Processing steps and allegations

The preparation of the projects has followed a specific legal path:

• June 9, 2026: The Minister of Education signed the initiating order, in accordance with Law 6/2022 of June 30, 2022, on the elaboration procedure for general provisions.
• Prior consultation with citizens: carried out through the administration portal, as required by Article 133.1 of Law 39/2015 of October 1, 2015.
• October 13, 2026: the minister’s order of prior approval to process the project.

Once the project is published, citizens have twenty (20) working days to submit allegations, starting from the day after the resolution appears in the BOPV, that is, from November 6. The text is available in two places: at the Directorate for Diversity and Inclusion located at Donostia-San Sebastián Street 1, Vitoria-Gasteiz (01010), and on the announcement board of the Basque Government’s electronic headquarters. Allegations may be submitted both in person and electronically.

That Directorate has used the powers granted by Article 15 of Decree 381/2024 of November 19, 2024, regarding the regulation establishing the organic and functional structure of the Department of Education.

Why it is important

The regulation extends its impact to all schools, including all non-university centers with public funding, and changes coexistence management: from a post-conflict response to prevention and damage repair. The twenty-working-day period gives citizens, families, and the educational community the opportunity to directly influence the content of the project, such as before fixing the functioning of the BAT teams or the powers of the observatory.

Fuente: Official Gazette of the Basque Country (BOPV), no. 2026/4679, November 5, 2026, Other provisions (official reference: 2026/4679).