At school, the authority of teachers must be respected. From 1 September, the new Criminal Code will strengthen protection for teachers and school staff who are victims of violence in the course of their duties.
An important development, reflecting our determination that no threat or violence against a teacher should be trivialised. Respecting the teacher also means respecting the school and the authority they embody.
Teachers recognised as performing a “societal function”
With the entry into force of the new Criminal Code, teachers will be fully recognised as performing a “societal function”, on a par with police officers, firefighters, paramedics, and others.
Committing certain offences against them will therefore constitute an aggravating circumstance. For acts of violence, this means in particular that the sentencing level will in principle be more severe.
Until now, the specific aggravation mechanism for violence against school staff was limited to acts committed by a pupil of the institution or a family member. From 1 September, this protection will be extended: the aggravation can apply regardless of who commits the violence.
This protection applies to teachers, but also to other school staff members and management.
Restoring respect and authority in schools
This development is fully in line with the approach championed by Valérie Glatigny: restoring the respect owed to those who bring the school to life. Teachers pass on knowledge, set a framework and enforce rules. They must be able to exercise this authority without fear of being threatened or attacked.
Strengthening their protection sends an unambiguous signal: violence has no place at school, and attacking a teacher in the course of their duties must lead to consequences commensurate with the seriousness of the acts.
Going further in zero tolerance
For the MR, strengthening criminal protection is an important step, but the response must not stop there.
The federal government agreement provides for a strengthened zero-tolerance policy so that no act of violence or threat against a person performing a societal function, including teachers, goes without consequence. This commitment still needs to be translated into legislation.
Restoring respect for and the authority of teachers is an essential condition for making school a genuine place of learning. There can be no solid learning without a framework, no framework without rules, and no rules without authority to enforce them. Better protecting teachers from violence means reaffirming a school built on respect and authority.
Supporting the legitimacy of teachers' decisions
From this year, pedagogical decisions made by our teachers, such as a decision to repeat a year, will no longer be subject to automatic appeal, which had previously applied for the years of the common core curriculum. This automatic system sent a signal of suspicion towards our teachers, who are nonetheless professionals in assessment and teaching more broadly. Greater respect for our teachers' pedagogical decisions is direct and concrete support for their authority.