Law amendments in action to promote school rights protection

The Ministry of Education is moving to amend laws to hold school rights protection committee meetings upon request by teachers whose teaching rights were violated.

Under current laws, the school rights protection committee meeting is convened upon recognition by the school principal and approval by at least one fourth of current committee members. The law was criticized as the requirements hindered meetings from being held, despite rights violations reported by teachers. Principals are reluctant to hold meetings because they fear parents.

The ministry will also promote a move to impose penalties and other administrative measures on principals reluctant to hold committee meetings. The move is to encourage proactive measures for victims and strengthen the responsibility of heads of schools, as currently done with school violence.

The school rights protection meeting will be held in accordance with the “Special Act to improve teachers’ status and protect educational activities (Teachers’ Status Act)” to deliberate whether certain actions have violated teachers’ rights and act on the offender. The current law does not include any penalty for parents violating rights, which the Ministry is considering putting in place.

President Yoon instructed at the chief secretary meeting to “come up with Educational Ministry notice to install detailed guidelines to restore the rights of teachers and revise self-governance ordinance that violates teachers’ rights.” The ministry will establish measures to reflect violating actions in students’ school record books and immediately separate the teacher from the offender. Cho Hee-yeon, Superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, has also announced that the office will be including an article on students’ accountability in the Student Rights Ordinance.


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