Information rights, advisory rights and agreement rights school participation council.

Right to agreement school participation council

Some decisions the school can only take if the school participation council agrees. This is called the right to agreement. The school must first ask for agreement from the whole school participation council or one of the sections (parents, staff or students). Without agreement the policy cannot be carried out or changed.

The right to agreement applies especially to subjects that directly affect the content and organisation of education. Think of:

• The school rules.
• The teaching time.
• Safety policy.
• Educational goals.

Sometimes the right to agreement applies only to one group within the school participation council. For example, parents have the right to agreement on changes in the school guide or care. Staff have the right to agreement on decisions about working conditions or task division.

Example:
The school wants to change the holiday schedule and divide study days differently. The parent section of the school participation council must agree to this. Without their approval the school cannot change this.

Right to advice school participation council

For some subjects the school does not have to ask for agreement but does need advice. This is called the right to advice. School management must take the school participation council’s advice seriously and cannot ignore it without explaining why.

The right to advice applies for example to:

• Appointing the school management.
• Large renovations or moves.
• Use of ICT.
• Multi-year financial policy.

The school participation council gives a well-reasoned opinion and thinks actively along. Even if the school is not forced to follow the advice, usually it does. If the board does nothing with the advice, it must give a good reason for that.

Example:
The school may want to merge with another primary school. The school participation council can give advice on this. If the board does not follow the advice, it must explain why and put this on paper.

Right to information

The school participation council has the right to all information needed to do its work well. This is called the right to information. The school governing body must inform the school participation council on its own about important plans, decisions and policy documents.

This includes for example:
The budget and the annual report.

• Policy plans.
• Numbers about the students or staff.

Without good information the school participation council cannot carry out its right to advice or agreement well. That is why this right is the base of the other two.

 Example:
The school wants to change the number of groups because there are more students. The school participation council must first see those numbers before it can give advice or agreement about this.