Education Ministry Sets Boundaries for Parents: Fixed Contact Hours and No Entry Without Coordination
The Ministry of Education has published a new Director General's Circular that for the first time codifies rules of conduct between parents and educational staff. The guidelines include setting contact hours, creating a contact hierarchy, and limiting parents' entry to institutions to pre-arranged visits. Minister Yoav Kisch says the move aims to back educational staff and strengthen their status, while maintaining parental involvement.
The Ministry of Education published today (Monday) a new Director General's Circular that for the first time codifies shared principles and rules of conduct in relations between parents and educational staff. The circular was formulated in cooperation with teachers' organizations and the national parents' leadership, and aims to strengthen parental involvement on one hand, and set clear boundaries on the other. Among the guidelines: each educational institution will publish communication channels and contact times, a 'contact hierarchy' will be created in which the parent first approaches the direct educator, and parents' entry to institutions will be allowed only by prior coordination. It was also determined that pedagogical, disciplinary, and organizational decisions will remain in the hands of professional factors, and that emotional treatment of students will be subject to parental consent. Education Minister Yoav Kisch said the move aims to give backing to educational staff and strengthen their status. The national parents' leadership welcomed the circular, noting that it proves their insistence on accessible and respectful contact was justified.