What are the Balearic Islands' school language rules and the free-choice pilot?

Key rules

• Baseline: Catalan is the main teaching language, with set minimum shares for Catalan and Spanish.
• Free-choice pilot: The pilot is contested, and its status and participating schools can change.
• Planning: Plan around the Catalan-based baseline and treat the pilot as a possible extra.

Check the current decree proportions and the pilot's status and participating schools with the Balearic education department before you act.

The short answer

Plan around the Catalan-based system. It is the stable baseline. The free-choice pilot is a separate, disputed scheme, so do not build your plans on it.

The baseline: Catalan as the main language

Public and publicly funded schools in the Balearic Islands follow a decree that sets minimum shares of teaching time for Catalan and for Spanish. Catalan is the main language of instruction. The decree also has rules on the foreign language, usually English.

In practice, expect your child to study most subjects in Catalan, with Spanish taught as its own subject and in a set share of other classes. Children who arrive without Catalan usually get some support, so ask the school what it offers.

The current regional government has relaxed some Catalan requirements, for example the language requirement for public employees. That does not remove the school baseline. The exact proportions are in the current decree text, so ask the school or the regional education department for the figures that apply to your child's year.

The free-choice pilot

The regional government has promoted a pilot that would let families choose the teaching language. It has faced legal challenges and political opposition. Its status and the list of participating schools can change, so do not assume any school near you takes part.

If the pilot interests you, ask the Balearic education department whether it is running now and which schools are in it. Then ask the school directly what it would mean for your child. Keep the baseline as your fallback.

What to do

1. Choose schools on the assumption that teaching will be mainly in Catalan.
2. Ask each school how it supports newcomers who do not speak Catalan.

The decision below sets out the two options side by side.

Choosing between options

Should you plan around the Catalan-based baseline or the free-choice pilot?

• Plan around the Catalan-based baseline: Your child goes to a school that is not in the pilot, or you cannot confirm the school is in it. The decree sets minimum shares for each language and makes Catalan the main teaching language.

• Look into the free-choice pilot: You want your family to choose the teaching language and your school is confirmed as a participating school.

Use the baseline unless the Balearic education department confirms in writing that your school is in the pilot and the pilot is currently in force.