The objective of the national representation of parents is to strengthen the culture of cooperation between the school and the parents through a democratically elected representation acting as a spokesperson for parents and the council with the Minister of national Education.
It can issue opinions on legislative projects, proposals or pedagogical projects, it can also submit proposals on school activities and education issues or, more in general, take position on issues of interest for the parents and the students.
Two-level elections
The national representation covers every level of education. To ensure that it is representative, elections are held at two levels: sectorial and national.
At sectorial level
For parents’ representatives in elementary education:
Elections are held by region. The directorates of the fifteen regions include the parents’ representatives elected for the elementary schools of their region.
Every regional meeting elects two sectorial representatives. Furthermore, one sectorial representative is elected by the private, international or European (public or private) schools.
For parents’ representatives in secondary education:
Elections are held for every high school. The parent council of every high school elects two sectorial representatives among its members. Furthermore, a sectorial representative is elected in each private, international or European (public or private) school.
For parents of students with specific needs:
Students supported by a competence centre will remain enrolled in their regular school (elementary school or high school).
The parents of these children may therefore submit their candidacy for the position of sectorial representative either through the school in which their child is enrolled or at the level of the competence centre in charge of their child
In principle, two sectorial representatives are elected in each competence centre.
At national level
The three sectorial representations appoint their members at the national representation level.
This includes:
- four representatives in elementary education;
- six representatives in secondary education; and
- two representatives of children or adolescents with specific needs.
Term and special leave for representation mandates
Representatives at the national level are elected for a renewable term of three years and can benefit from special leave of eight days per year for the purpose of fulfilling their mandate.