Navarra sets the new special education curriculum for this academic year

The Government of Navarra has established the curriculum for Compulsory Basic Education in special education centers and in the specific structures of ordinary centers through Foral Decree 53/2026, of August 19, published in the Official Gazette of Navarra number 208, of October 19, 2026 (page 36963). The regulation will be implemented in the 2026-2027 academic year and enters into force on October 20, one day after its publication.

The decree was approved by the Government of Navarra in the session of August 19, 2026, following a report from the School Council of Navarra and at the proposal of the Minister of Education, Carlos Gimeno Gurpegui; it is signed by the president, María Chivite Navascués. It is structured into four chapters and three annexes, and develops the mandate of article 47 of Organic Law 13/1982, of August 10, on the reintegration and improvement of the Foral Regime of Navarra.

The scope of application covers public, private, and government-subsidized private special education centers authorized by the Department of Education, as well as the specific structures of ordinary centers that are not Specific Curriculum Units. The regulation repeals articles 30, 31, and 32 of Foral Order 93/2008, of June 13, and adds a chapter VIII to Foral Order 69/2023, of August 21, to create the Adapted Curriculum Program.

Two stages, from 6 to 16 years old

Compulsory Basic Education in special education centers is taken from the calendar year in which the student turns six until the year they turn sixteen, with the possibility of extension due to permanence in the stage. It is divided into two sections: EBO 1, from 6 to 12 years (six courses), and EBO 2, from 12 to 16 years (four courses). In specific structures, the division is EE-P (6-12 years) and EE-S (12-16 years), ten courses in total.

Permanence for one additional year in the stage may only be adopted once, and schooling may be extended for one further year if it favors socio-educational integration, with the agreement of the families and authorization from the Department of Education. Upon completion, families will be provided with a guiding recommendation regarding the skills and achievements attained.

A curriculum in areas and five dimensions

The design is based on the concept of intellectual disability from the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD) and the supports and quality of life model by Schalock and Verdugo (2002), with eight dimensions: physical well-being, emotional well-being, interpersonal relationships, material well-being, personal development, self-determination, social inclusion, and rights.

The curricular organization is articulated in the following areas:

• Intellectual functioning domain: basic cognitive processes, visuo-motor coordination, executive functions, and reasoning.
• Conceptual development domain: functional school skills, self-direction, and communication.
• Social development domain: leisure and free time, social skills, and behavior.
• Practical development domain: community use, home life, activities of daily living, health and safety, and work.
• Health and context domains, which integrate the quality of life profile.

Specific competencies, basic knowledge, and evaluation criteria are detailed in Annex I for compulsory basic education and in Annex II for specific structures.

Evaluation by type and intensity of support

Evaluation will be global, continuous, and formative. The teaching team will assess the criteria by combining the type of support with its intensity, according to Annex III: type 0 (none), 1 (supervision), 2 (verbal or gestural prompting), 3 (partial physical assistance), and 4 (total physical assistance); intensity 0 (none), 1 (low), 2 (moderate), 3 (high), and 4 (very high). The result will be transferred qualitatively to the family information bulletin.

Tutoring will be the responsibility of a therapeutic pedagogy teacher, who will coordinate the teaching and multiprofessional team. The official evaluation documents are the evaluation minutes, the academic record, the academic history, the end-of-stage report, and, where applicable, the personal transfer report.

Inclusion, families, and resource centers

In specific structures, students must be included in the reference classroom for at least one-third of the school day, and reverse inclusion options are considered, in which the ordinary group accesses the specific structure. Exceptional measures of reduced grouping or individualized attention will require validation from the Resource Center for Educational Equity in Navarra (CREENA) and authorization from the competent management unit for inclusion.

Special education centers will also act as reference resource centers for ordinary centers. After this stage, students may access the Transition to Adult Life Program or Special Vocational Training Cycles, and Early Childhood Education in special education centers is considered a “very exceptional” schooling modality from the age of three.

The decree arrives with the school year already underway and obliges the Department of Education to regulate the implementation, organization, and schedule, as well as the evaluation and promotion of these teachings, via regional order. Until that specification, centers must incorporate the new curriculum into their educational project, which directly affects families, teachers, and subsidized centers throughout Navarra.

Source: Official Gazette of Navarra, no. 208, October 19, 2026, section 1.1.2 Foral Decrees, page 36963 (official reference: Foral Decree 53/2026).