The draft amendment, adopted by the government on Wednesday, will now go to the Sejm, the lower house of parliament.
The proposal would place a unified list of student rights and obligations in the Education Law Act, instead of leaving them scattered across different regulations.
Government spokesman Adam Szłapka said the aim was to set common standards for protecting students across the country and to introduce clear rules for responding to misconduct.
Prime Minister Donald Tusk said the bill responded to demands raised by students, teachers and parents, including representatives of school self-government bodies and parent councils.
He thanked Education Minister Barbara Nowacka and said he hoped no one would try to block measures that were widely expected and, in his words, obvious.
One of the most closely watched parts of the bill would give students a statutory right to shape their own appearance and clothing.
The proposal says students would be protected from discrimination for any reason, including their appearance. At the same time, they would still be required to dress in line with generally accepted social norms.
Clothes promoting hatred or discrimination, breaking the law, or creating a safety risk would be banned. Schools would also retain the right to enforce dress rules in specific settings such as physical education classes, workshops and laboratories.
The bill would also create a new system of student rights commissioners. At the top would be a National Student Rights Commissioner, selected through a competition for a four-year term. The office would be supported by 16 regional commissioners working with the education superintendents, officials who oversee schools in each province.
Local governments would still be free to appoint municipal or county-level student rights commissioners, as they can now. In schools, the role would fall to teachers who supervise student self-government bodies, with support from at least one student representative if a school’s internal rules allow it.
Another important change would require schools and educational institutions to set up school councils that include students, parents and teachers. This requirement would take effect on September 1, 2028, with exemptions for places where it is not practical to create a permanent parent or student representation, such as hospital schools.
The amendment would also clarify the legal position of adult students, especially on access to grades and the excusing of absences.
Under the proposal, requests to excuse absences would need to include a reason, though schools would not be allowed to demand excessive or sensitive personal information. The procedure, deadline and form for submitting excuses would still be decided by each school.
The educaion ministry said the bill was meant to make the system easier to understand for students and parents and to strengthen the educational role of schools.
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP