The keys to the law that 'shields' the teaching of Valencian and that Vox wants to modify
For more than 40 years, Law 4/1983, of November 23, on the Use and Education of Valencia, has shaped the language policy of successive Valencian governments. Under its guidelines, successive left-wing and right-wing governments have attempted (with varying degrees of success) to develop measures to protect and promote the native language, although there have also been leaders who have shown little interest in this and have even tried to compensate for alleged discrimination against Spanish in education.
The law passed in 1983, during the reign of Socialist leader Joan Lerma, established a series of measures to regulate the normal and official use of Valencian in all areas of social coexistence, including education. In some ways, the law protects the teaching of Valencian (not in Valencian) in Valencian-speaking areas, as it also introduces a series of exceptions for areas considered predominantly Spanish-speaking.
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Now, as seen yesterday at Alicante City Hall, there are parties willing to modify this linguistic map to promote the implementation of Spanish in education. In fact, if the proposal approved by the PP and Vox in the second largest city in the region were to materialize, the percentage of subjects taught in Valencian in the town's classrooms would clearly decline, and its students could even request exemption and not take the Valencian language exam.
However, as this newspaper noted, neither the Valencian People's Party (PP) nor Carlos Mazón's Council have any intention of modifying the number of municipalities considered Spanish-speaking "at this time," despite pressure from Vox. This would require amending the Llei d'Ús (Spanish-speaking Law), and that is not currently on the table. The PP believes that the approval and implementation of the law on educational freedom already meets their linguistic expectations without the need to open a new issue.
If the change proposed by the PP and Vox materializes, students in Alicante may not take the Valencian exam.Title V of the 1983 law establishes the areas where Castilian and Valencian languages are predominantly spoken, which is what Vox wants to change to address new realities. This is of paramount importance since, as seen with the Law on Educational Freedom, the simple fact of being in a Castilian-speaking area makes it very difficult to teach in the Valencian language.
It should be noted that Article 18 of the Llei d'Ús (it should be noted that it was enacted in 1983) establishes that "the incorporation of Valencian into teaching is mandatory at all educational levels." However, its development already indicated that, in Spanish-speaking territories, the incorporation "will be carried out progressively, taking into account the particular sociolinguistic situation, in the manner determined by regulations."
The Llei d'Ús establishes the exemption of Valencian in areas where Castilian predominates.Along these lines, Article 24 establishes that the Valencian Council "will progressively introduce the teaching of Valencian in the territories where the related Castilian language predominates, promoting all public and private initiatives that contribute to the aforementioned objective." However, it creates a linguistic exemption and states that "parents or guardians residing in the aforementioned areas may obtain exemption from the teaching of Valencian for their children and wards, when they so request upon registration."
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