According to the draft regulations, if there is a suspicion that a student has brought dangerous substances and objects into the school, its territory or the events organized by the educational institution, the school staff or other students will have to immediately inform the school director or his authorized person.
If immediate action is required, students will be required to notify any school employee of the suspicion, who shall immediately notify the school principal or his/her designee accordingly.
The school principal or a person authorized by him will make a decision to restrict the movement of the suspicious student and demand the presentation and inspection of his personal belongings. The test will have to take place in the presence of at least one other school employee, ensuring the student’s privacy.
If during the inspection it is found that the student has brought dangerous substances and objects, the school director or his authorized person will have to inform the municipal police or the State Police and the parents of the minor student. If necessary, the municipal social service and the founder of the educational institution will also have to be informed about the findings.
Until the arrival of the security guards, the school director or his authorized person will have to ensure the removal and storage of the found dangerous substances and objects.
If the suspected student does not agree to present his personal belongings, the school principal or his authorized person will have to inform the security guards about the incident and ensure supervision of the students until their arrival.
The draft amendment also defines the procedure by which parents must inform the educational institution about the student’s state of health and other conditions that can significantly affect the educational process and be important for the persons involved in it.
Last autumn, the Saeima adopted amendments to the Education Law proposed by the President Edgars Rinkēvičs, which would allow school principals to search students’ belongings and restrict their movement for security reasons.
The issue of safety in educational institutions has once again been brought up after incidents of violence in some educational institutions.
Such situations arise both because the student has brought in dangerous objects and because of insufficient cooperation between parents and the school, which prevents the school from accessing essential information in order to adapt the educational process to the student’s state of health, the annotation of the bill states.
Amendments to the Education Law delegated to the Cabinet of Ministers to develop procedures by the end of January this year. It is planned that they could enter into force on February 1.