(Finance) – “The measure approved today by the Council of Ministers upon our proposal – declares the Minister of Education and Merit, Giuseppe Valditara – represents a milestone in government policy for one true equality of all students. For the foreigners our goal is allow everyone to have an adequate knowledge of the Italian language, first, fundamental step for real inclusion. In classes where students of foreign origins, and who have significant deficiencies in knowledge of the language, are equal to or greater than 20%, from 2025 a suitably trained teacher will arrive who will support class work with strengthening lessons. Meanwhile, as early as September, schools will be able to organize additional extracurricular strengthening courses thanks to ad hoc funds from the PON”.
“The decree – continues the Minister – constitutes, at the same time, a very important passage for a more efficient setting of theeducational support activities for students with disabilities. We aim to expand the staff of specialized support teachers and, together, to guarantee educational continuity for children even in the case of non-tenured teachers. Concrete measures, inspired by the criterion of ‘doing’, for a school that is truly constitutional, at the service of every student”.
The salient points of the decree-law
The first point concerns the integration of foreign students through strengthening activities concretely made available to schools. The measures are aimed, in fact, at those foreign students who, especially if newly arrived in Italy, do not possess an adequate level of knowledge of the Italian language as a language of communication and (consequently) of study, and who maintain serious deficits in knowledge of the language in next route. Just think that the dropout rate for these students foreigners stands, in fact, at over 30% compared to a dispersion of Italian students of just 9.8%. For these reasons, it is envisaged, on the one hand, the possibility for schools – already for the next school year – to access specific PON projects aimed at ensuring the strengthening of the learning of the Italian language; on the other, to start a process that will lead, through the remodeling of the staff, to introducing, for classes with a number of foreign students newly arrived in Italy, and with a deficit in the language equal to or greater than 20%, a teacher with a ad hoc training.
The second point concerns measures to strengthen educational support for pupils with disabilities. The decree-law contains a ‘package’ of measures aimed at ensuring a increasingly qualified assistance from support teachers to students with disabilities, while at the same time promoting educational continuity for the benefit of the students themselves.
To address the chronic shortage of teachers specialized in support, we intervene by introducing, in addition to the training offer of universities, a new specialization training offer on support, provided by INDIRE (a public research body already responsible for training school staff), aimed at ‘precarious’ teachers, who have already been carrying out this role for years, even though they lack specialization. The intervention, of a transitory and exceptional nature, is aimed at an audience of approximately 85 thousand teachers who the current specialization system has not managed to intercept.
Within this measure we also intervene in order to facilitate the resolution of disputes linked to the lack of recognition of specialization qualifications on the support obtained abroad. In fact, it is expected that the approximately 11 thousand individuals with a request for recognition or pending litigation will be able to access “ad hoc” specialization courses, again provided by INDIRE.
In order to guarantee the continuity of fixed-term teachers on support positions, it is foreseen the possibility, upon request of the family of the pupil with disabilities, of obtain confirmation from the teacher in service in the previous school year, subject to evaluation by the school director and in the interest of the student. Confirmation is given as a priority to teachers in possession of the specific qualification of specialization for teaching pupils with disabilities.
With the third point, a new evaluation model for school leaders able to measure their activity on the basis of merit parameters. The intervention is part of a season of important valorisation, including economic, of the role of school manager, which corresponds to a consequent adaptation of the relevant evaluation systems, according to the most virtuous models indicated for the entire public sector. With the proposed provision this is guaranteed an objective and transparent evaluation of individual performances based on defined and measurable objectives, allowing the recognition of performance pay based on the achievement of the assigned objectives. The new evaluation model will be contained in a decree of the Minister, to be adopted with the due involvement of the trade unions.
Finally, we introduce a transitional rulevalid only for the next school year, to regulate the mobility of school managers, pending the entry into force of the newly signed CCNL, planning to raise to the maximum (100%) the percentage of places available for the benefit of the mobility of managers currently in the roles.