Navarra modifies the school day to comply with a court ruling

The Minister of Education of the Government of Navarra, Carlos Gimeno Gurpegui, has signed Foral Order 47/2026, dated September 25, which modifies the regulation of school day types in centers providing the second cycle of Early Childhood Education, Primary Education, and Special Education. The provision is published in the Official Gazette of Navarra number 200, dated October 8, 2026, and enters into force the day following its publication. The text complies with the ruling of judgment number 000254/2024 of the Contentious-Administrative Chamber of the High Court of Justice of Navarra (TSJN).

The origin: a ruling that annulled four precepts

Foral Order 106/2023, dated November 9, from the Minister of Education, had until now regulated the types of school days in the Navarra educational network. The TSJN declared articles 12.7, 13, 14.1, and the third additional provision of that regulation null and void, as they did not comply with the Law. The new foral order replaces those precepts and also introduces changes to align the text with regulatory standards approved subsequently. The processing included the mandatory report from the School Council of Navarra and is issued under article 41.1.g) of Foral Law 14/2004, dated December 3, of the Government of Navarra and its President.

The modified precepts are:

• Article 7.4, regarding the coexistence regulations applicable to morning sessions and student care during afternoon hours.
• Article 10, prior actions and approval from the Department of Education.
• Article 11, initiation of the procedure for changing the school day.
• Article 12, consultation with families and legal representatives.
• Article 13, consultation with the Teaching Faculty.
• Article 14, approval by the School Council.
• Article 15.2, rectification of non-compliance.
• Article 19, supervision by the Educational Inspection Service.
• Fifth additional provision, regarding extracurricular activities, and seventh additional provision, regarding exceptionality; the third additional provision is suppressed.

Voting: 25% threshold and majority of favorable votes

The procedure begins with a session of the School Council convened by the center’s management, in which the favorable vote of at least 25% of its voting members is required to proceed. In that same session, the school day modalities to be submitted for consultation are determined, always excluding the one already implemented by the center. The Department of Education must give its approval by verifying compliance with that percentage and the viability of the proposed schedule in relation to the dining hall and transport; centers that share transport may only initiate the procedure if all involved school councils approve the same modality.

The consultation with families is carried out through a direct, secret, and non-delegable vote, with the possibility of using electronic procedures. Each family has one vote for each daughter or son, and the census excludes students in the final year of Basic Education taught at the center. The Teaching Faculty also expresses its opinion through a direct and non-delegable vote, and final approval corresponds to the School Council by a majority of favorable votes from the attendees entitled to vote. If this majority is not reached, the center maintains its schedule and cannot apply for a new call during the period established in article 16.2.

Supervision, afternoon activities, and exceptions

The Educational Inspection Service assumes the annual approval or denial of school calendars and general schedules, and will supervise the Annual General Programming and the final end-of-year report. In centers with a continuous school day, the general schedule must include student care activities in the afternoon, which will not be considered extracurricular. Any exception to the procedure must be requested with justification to the Educational Inspection Service for its analysis and, if applicable, approval.

The regulation affects all Navarrese educational centers that provide the second cycle of Early Childhood, Primary, and Special Education, and arrives with the school year already underway: it enters into force on October 9, 2026, one day after its publication. With this, the department reconstructs the framework for choosing the school day that the TSJN had left without legal coverage, so that families, faculties, and school councils recover a regulated procedure to decide between a continuous school day and a split school day.

Source: Official Gazette of Navarra, number 200, of October 8, 2026, section 1.1.3 Foral Orders, pages 35541-35546 (official reference: F2612811).