The New Automatic Certification of Valencian Ends Up in Court

The system for recognising Valencian language levels implemented by the Consell from this academic year has reached the courts. Escola Valenciana has requested the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV) to provisionally suspend this new model, which, in their view, "violates the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR) and is based on a law – the so-called educational freedom law – against which a constitutional challenge has been filed."

Thus, in the document submitted to the court, the civic entity argues that with the mechanisms for recognition, certification, and registration of Valencian language reference levels established in the contested resolution, "the knowledge of Valencian that allows recognition to students of a certain level according to the CEFR is not guaranteed."

Specifically, the Resolution of 26 September 2024, from the Department of Education, Culture, Universities, and Employment, which is now being challenged, recognises certain levels of Valencian for specific students based on having completed certain studies (having a grade of 5 or more or having exceeded a grade of 7 for obtaining the C1 level), and also retroactively (from the 2008-2009 or 2009-2010 courses, depending on each level), "without adhering to the determinations provided in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages regarding each of the linguistic levels it foresees."

"And this," they specify from Escola, "despite the fact that in the contested Resolution, in a completely spurious and misleading manner, it is indicated that the linguistic recognitions are carried out within the framework of the CEFR."

For this organisation, it is "unlawful and illogical that the Department of Education, Culture, Universities, and Employment certifies different levels of Valencian without having assessed the linguistic competence of students who have completed the different educational stages."

"To carry out a homologation of these characteristics with the necessary guarantees, it would be required that the curriculum of the Valencian subject covers all the competencies collected by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, both in the oral and written fields, in the different areas of competence," they reason.

Furthermore, regarding the retroactive nature of the resolution, Escola Valenciana explains that "a linguistic certification cannot be granted if it is not accredited that the person to whom it is granted, at the time it is granted, possesses this linguistic level of Valencian."

On the other hand, the submitted text indicates that it cannot be overlooked that what is provided in the Resolution of 26 September 2024 and in Law 1/2024, concerning the recognition and certification of different linguistic levels of Valencian, "is discriminatory compared to other foreign languages that even also form part of the curriculum in the different cycles and educational stages."

"If the Department understands that to certify a foreign language, such as, for example, English or French, an evaluation is necessary in which an examination of all linguistic areas is carried out and is adequate to what is provided in the CEFR, it is not reasonable to adopt a different criterion regarding Valencian."

Therefore, they insist, "it is not possible to understand the difference in treatment between some languages and others concerning the certification of linguistic levels, since the criteria for homologation by the Department should be homogenised, without applying one criterion or another depending on whether it is Valencian or any other foreign language." "They can generate an administrative chaos," they warn.

"Specifically," they continue, "it is necessary to adopt the precautionary measure we request before it is too late and the students who have obtained such certifications, especially the C1 level certifications, make use of such certifications, for example, for access to public service in competitions or other selection processes, since, in the case of declaring the procedure for recognition and certification of such linguistic levels null, an administrative chaos would be generated and, of course, a serious detriment both for the affected citizens and for the Public Administration itself."