Original article: Prohibir acceso a la gratuidad es discriminatorio: TC publicó sentencia contra proyecto «Escuelas Protegidas» de Kast

Constitutional Court Rules Against ‘Protected Schools’ Initiative, Calling Access Ban Discriminatory

On Monday, July 6th, the Constitutional Court issued a ruling regarding the ‘Protected Schools’ project promoted by José A. Kast’s government, reaffirming that prohibiting access to free education—as the government intended in its proposal—is a discriminatory action.

Among other points, the Court emphasized, «the contradiction is confirmed when considering the logic with which the Constitution itself regulates the effects of criminal convictions on the exercise of rights. When the Fundamental Charter intended to deprive a right as a consequence of a conviction, it established that expressly,» the ruling states.

It further indicates, «This is the case with the suspension and loss of the right to vote and citizenship in the situations outlined in Articles 13, 16, and 17 of the Constitution. Education, on the other hand, is not among the rights that the Constitution authorizes to be restricted as a result of a conviction.»

«Rather, it is a right that the legal framework maintains even for those deprived of liberty,» the ruling adds.

Thus, the Court underscores that «since free education aims to guarantee access for those without means, a disqualification that deprives one of it as a consequence of a conviction deviates from that constitutional logic, which keeps the rights of the convicted intact except for those whose deprivation the Charter explicitly authorizes.»

Following the publication of the document, Tatiana Urrutia, a deputy from the Broad Front (District 8), highlighted that «the Chilean government’s obsession with undermining social rights has found a limit in the Constitutional Court: One cannot use free education as a punishment nor turn social rights into instruments of exclusion.»

«The ruling states that prohibiting access to free education is discriminatory, because it punishes only those who cannot afford their studies; violates equality before the law; affects the right to education; exacerbates the marginalization of those who most need state support; and works against reintegration,» emphasized the parliamentarian.

«We have warned about this in the discussion of the ‘vandals register’; we all want to combat incivilities, but not with laws that take us backward as a society,» emphasized Deputy Urrutia. Check/download the full ruling (136 pages) HERE.

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