no. 07-00-2/2023-02 date: 25.7.2023.

OPINION         

The opinion was issued in the procedure concerning the complaint of AA against the BB Elementary School (from now on: the School), who believes that the School discriminated against him based on his marital and family status. The complaint stated, among other things, that the complainant is a divorced father of two minor daughters, that the children were entrusted to the mother for the independent exercise of parental rights, that the complainant was not deprived of parental rights, that the School enrolled his minor daughter in the first grade without the consent of the complainant, that the School did not provide the complainant with access to the electronic diary and that the School did not inform him about the educational process and progress of his minor daughter. In the statement on the allegations in the complaint, among other things, it was specified that the School was obliged, according to the provisions of the Law on the Basics of the Education System, to enroll the complainant’s daughter in the first grade of primary school, that from the electronic correspondence between the complainant and the School it can in no way be concluded that the complainant was discriminated against, but on the contrary, that he was invited to participate in the education process of his daughter, as well as that the complainant did not submit a request to the school for enabling access to the electronic diary, and that the School will immediately provide access to the electronic diary as soon as the request is submitted to the applicant. The Commissioner first states that the issue of changing the address of the residence of his minor daughter without the consent of the complainant is the subject of ongoing court proceedings, which was noted by the educational inspector in his report, and the above is confirmed by an insight into the lawsuit and counterclaim in the proceedings before the court. The Law on the Basics of the Education and Training System prescribes the school’s obligation to enroll a child in the first grade of elementary school and misdemeanor liability in case of refusal to enroll. Regarding the complainant’s allegation that the school did not provide him with information about the course of education and the progress of his minor daughter, the Commissioner, based on the submitted evidence, can state that the complainant did not make it likely that the school withheld information from the complainant about the course of his minor daughter’s education. Regarding access to the electronic diary for the minor daughter, bearing in mind the provisions of Article 25a paragraph 3 of the Rulebook on the Content and Method of Keeping Records and Issuing Public Documents in Elementary School, which prescribes which data must be included in the request for access to the electronic diary, it can be concluded that the complainant’s request does not represent a proper request, that is, it does not contain mandatory elements necessary for action. After the procedure was conducted and the factual situation was established, the Commissioner issued the opinion that in the procedure based on AA’s complaint, BB Elementary School did not violate the provisions of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination. However, bearing in mind that AA addressed the school in an electronic letter and expressed his will to have access to the electronic diary, the Commissioner, using her competences prescribed by Article 33, paragraph 1, point 9 of the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination, recommended the BB Elementary School to instruct the complainant on the procedure and method of submitting a request for access to the electronic diary, as well as to provide access to the electronic diary to the complainant after a duly submitted request, i.e., to provide him with access parameters so that he could gain insight into the data on the success and demeanor of his minor daughter.

COMMISSIONER FOR THE PROTECTION OF EQUALITY
Brankica Janković