High Court backs Valencian government order on school language consultation

The High Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV) has backed a regional government order that outlines how schools will consult with student representatives to choose the base language of instruction from the 2026-2027 academic year. This ruling aligns with the Valencian Generalitat's Education Freedom Law.

The court's decision, made last week and announced Monday, arrives during sensitive negotiations between the education ministry and teaching unions, who have been on an indefinite strike for four weeks. Educators are protesting the Education Freedom Law, with a greater presence of the Valencian language being one of their key demands.

The TSJCV's Contentious-Administrative Chamber rejected an appeal filed by Compromís members, who had sought to suspend the language consultation process, arguing it would only "create tension." The appeal also claimed the order mandated online participation and lacked an economic impact report, which they argued rendered it void.

However, the court found the Generalitat's procedure to be lawful, stating that any potential costs would stem from the Valencian Law 1/2024 itself, and the plaintiffs provided no evidence to the contrary. The ruling noted that if there had been discrepancies between parental choices and published results, numerous complaints would have surfaced, which have not been registered by the court. The court dismissed claims that the order diminished the Valencian language, calling the arguments "rhetorical" and "lacking proof," and stated that the Valencian language's role as a vehicular language was not disproven, nor was the Constitutional Court's doctrine violated.