What about religion in schools? Ministry responds to the Court's decision

President of the Constitutional Tribunal Julia Przyłębska informed on Thursday in an interview with wPolsce.pl that the Constitutional Tribunal agreed with the motion of the First President of the Supreme Court and issued a protective order, suspending the application of the amendment to the regulation of the Minister of Education regarding the conditions for organizing religious education classes. She also announced that the Tribunal will issue a ruling regarding the regulation in the near future.

On Friday, the Ministry of National Education published on its website its position on the decision of the Constitutional Tribunal.

“In connection with media reports regarding the issuance by the Constitutional Tribunal of a safeguard in the form of suspension of the application of the regulation of the Minister of Education of 26 July 2024 amending the regulation on the conditions and method of organizing religious education in public kindergartens and schools (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1158), the Minister of Education informs that the above safeguard has no legal effect and the above regulation was issued in accordance with the law and has been generally applicable from 1 September 2024,” the position states.

Earlier on Friday, on Polsat News, the Minister of Education Barbara Nowackawhen asked about the Constitutional Tribunal's protective order, she replied that according to many expert opinions in such a case Constitutional Tribunal there is no right to apply security at all.

– I would like to remind you of the resolution of the Sejm, which states that compliance with the rulings, judgments, and ideas of the tribunal of Ms. Przyłębska may constitute failure to act in accordance with the law – she said. At the same time, she added that the president of the Constitutional Tribunal, Julia Przyłębska, was appointed in a defective manner, and each panel of judges appointed by her also has a legal defect.

– The Episcopate, which wants to organize school life because this regulation concerns the organization of class schedules, is a complete confusion of systems. They had no basis for such action, nor is it appropriate – she emphasized.

So far, in accordance with the regulation on the organization of religious education classes, the kindergarten and school organized religious education classes in the kindergarten section or in the class section if no less than seven pupils of a given section in the kindergarten or pupils of a given section in the school registered for religious education classes. If a smaller number of children registered for religious education classes, the kindergarten and school organized education for them in an inter-section or inter-class group.

The July amendment to the regulation expanded the possibilities of organizing religious education and ethics in inter-class and inter-grade groups also consisting of pupils or students who have not been combined in these classes with pupils or students from other classes or grades. According to it, the school (kindergarten) principal will be able to combine children from classes or grades in a group where seven or more students have signed up for religious education.

In practice, it will be easier than before to create groups of children from different age groups and grades. The new organization of religion classes may result in a decrease in the number of hours and, as a result, a reduction in the employment of catechists.

1st President of the Supreme Court Malgorzata Manowska appealed to the Constitutional Tribunal against the July amendment to the regulation. She accused it of, among other things, violating the principle of “a consensual way of regulating relations between the state and the Churches” and preventing “teaching religion in a manner specified in the curriculum for this subject” in connection with creating the basis for organizing religious education in inter-unit or inter-class groups. The application to the Constitutional Tribunal was accompanied by a motion to suspend the application of the contested provisions.

The motion of President Manowska was submitted in response to recent petitions from the Presidium of the Polish Episcopal Conference and the Polish Ecumenical Council. According to the authors of these petitions, among others, when issuing the regulation by the Minister of Education, it was limited to allowing representatives of the interested Churches and other associations to express their opinions.