Mexico City.– A federal judge ruled today that the free primary school textbooks for the 2023-2024 cycle will have to be the ones that go through all the processes provided for in the General Education Law (LGE).
Yadira Medina Alcántara, Third District Judge in Administrative Matters, granted the final suspension in an appeal promoted by the National Union of Family Parents (UNPF) to challenge the new textbooks for first to fourth grade.
The judge did not prohibit the Secretary of Public Education (SEP) from printing these books, but conditioned it to the fact that a series of legal requirements had previously been followed that, probably, will not be able to be filled in time for the start of classes in August, which It would make it necessary to keep the previous textbooks.
“If the rules in question for the approval of plans, programs and free textbooks have not been observed, the printing and delivery of textbooks for the 2023-2024 school year is suspended, and they refrain from continuing with their edition and printing, until the respective procedure provided for in the law for the determination of said plans, programs and books has been observed,” ordered Medina.
“This suspension does not suspend nor should it prevent the edition and timely delivery of textbooks for the period 2023-2024 that are consistent with the programs and study plans that have complied with the reinforced guarantees of intervention by state governments and citizens. coupled with the need to consider the temporality necessary for the respective training of the educators,” he clarified.
The SEP can challenge the suspension before a collegiate court, but this appeal will take at least one to three months to be resolved, which makes the time to have new books ready even more limited.
The eventual contempt of the suspension – which must be complied with even if it is challenged – is a federal crime that is punishable by three to nine years in prison for the officials responsible, but it is the FGR that decides whether to file an accusation.
“The procedure for printing textbooks for basic education for the 2023-2024 school year, must be adhered to and completed with each of the stages that the law provides for this purpose, because only in this way is its content guaranteed. pedagogical in accordance with the best interests of children, as well as with the democratic objectives and academic training; hence the need for interaction with specialized citizens and state governments, as it is precisely a subject of major importance and, therefore, of concurrent jurisdiction,” said the judge.
The legal steps to follow, according to the sentence, are the following:
-The determination of the Federal Executive of the guiding principles and objectives of initial education.
-Establish the study plans and programs for basic education.
-Publish in the Official Gazette of the Federation and in the official information body of each federative entity.
-Prior to its application, the educators (teachers and teachers) must be trained.
-Consider the opinion of the governments of the federative entities and of the social actors, among other aspects, to elaborate, edit, keep updated and send the free textbooks and other educational materials.
-Authorize and set the guidelines for the use of textbooks “Society is interested in compliance with such measures, both in the approval of plans and programs, and in the publication and making available of said books, prior to its edition, printing and material delivery to the students, and in turn, these and the parents are interested in the observance of such guidelines, precisely because this is guaranteed, starting from the democratic society, by the intervention not only of the heads of the Federal Executive and governments of the federative entities, but by people specialized in educational matters,” says the sentence.
It should be remembered that, in August 2022, the SEP published the new Curriculum for Preschool, Primary and Secondary Education, which was criticized for its ideologized content and favorable to the current Government.
The SEP sought to apply this plan in a pilot program in 960 schools, but two federal judges suspended it, as social organizations accused lack of teacher training and absence of specific study plans.
Now the UNPF maintains that the new textbooks have been prepared in secret, without the participation of the actors in the education sector, and without the existence of the respective study programs.
2023-05-27 00:58:56
#Judge #conditions #textbooks #SEP
