All workbooks, as it turns out, should be provided for free April 12th, 2013

Since next year we will have compulsory primary education, I am interested in all sorts of school issues. On one popular parent forum there was recently a discussion about whether schools should provide textbooks for free, and on what basis they are collecting money from parents everywhere for this. Well, this is all, in general, clear: textbooks should be provided free of charge, which is stated in the law, and officials at all levels have repeatedly stated this.

I was interested in another aspect of the question: now in elementary school, in addition to textbooks, all kinds of “workbooks” are actively used. And they collect money from parents for them without any twinge of conscience - they say, “these are notebooks, they are disposable.” And in our wonderful law on education it is written that in general all educational materials and consumables should be free. And in the new edition (from September 1, 2013), all “teaching and educational means” are postulated to be free.

Well, I decided to clarify the official position on this issue in three places:
1. Commissioner for Children's Rights in St. Petersburg (at the forum).
2. Education Committee of the Government of St. Petersburg (application by email).
3. Ministry of Education (electronic application).

1. Commissioner for Children's Rights in St. Petersburg

A short version of the dialogue on the Commissioner's forum:
They: - Parents should buy workbooks.
Me: - But in the law here and here, that’s why it’s written differently.
They: - This year, rye and all this in the Leningrad region sprouted in the second decade, and the bran is 150 tons per year per head.
Me: - Still, tell me about workbooks - after all, according to the law, they must be provided free of charge.
They: - The law is a complex thing, there are many different laws, for example, the law on birds, the law on fish, the law on trees - and different things are written in them.
Me: - And yet, the essence of the question about workbooks?
(silence)
Me: - Hello?
(silence)

Full version of the dialogue:
Original on the forum

2. Committee on Education of St. Petersburg

To the first request, they said - yes, they say, it was the parents, at their own expense:

After clarifying the quotation of the law, Mr. Iskrenko took a much more streamlined position - they say, we are not involved at all, the ministry approves something, schools do something there, and the administration of St. Petersburg only allocates as much money as needed:

He, prudently, decided not to answer the question.

upd: as it turned out,

And the director told us that the school doesn’t have money and if we don’t want to, we don’t have to buy, but write in regular ones... but it’s better to buy... Maria Zaya
We need to look for regulations. As far as I remember, the Department of Education issued some kind of explanatory letter, which described that workbooks cannot be purchased with funds allocated for the purchase of textbooks.
I have not seen this resolution myself. I think you just need to write a request to the Department of Education.

Hidden text: Show http://www.nsktv.ru/news/education/v_nekotorykh_novosibirskikh_shkolakh_s_roditeley_sobirayut_dengi_na_besplatnye_uchebniki_080220171802/ Hide

So who should buy workbooks anyway? Is there anyone who went against the system and who succeeded? Did it work out without consequences for the child’s reputation? The teacher told us about workbooks: “They are not a prerequisite, and no one can force you to buy them. If you refuse, then I will teach your children without these notebooks, but with them it will be more convenient for both me and your children.” . The list of notebooks was proposed by the teacher for agreement with parents. Everyone bought it, there were no protesters. It’s not so offensive when you buy a notebook and the teacher then uses it all and gives you assignments. Then it’s still somehow clear. But when you buy, and only 25% is used, you really think - why did you pay 150 rubles?

At the end of the quarter, I force my son to do all the assignments))) I’m such an evil mother))) Textbooks are for learning, and workbooks are for making life easier for teachers and for parents. By the beginning of the middle level, I remember I wrote quite quickly and quite accurately. But the eldest son and his classmates are accustomed to workbooks, computers, etc., speed, etc. appropriate. It’s clear, we need to practice, we do interesting tasks. But this turns out to be preparation for scientific and practical conferences, explanation of complex topics, crafts - sorry, if this is on the parents, then what is the job of the teacher?!
The son’s teacher asks and demands, asserts and insists: workbooks are needed. And then the child has one and a half empty out of four. Well, or all four. How is that? Each of the notebooks is not expensive, but together they cost a pretty penny. But the teacher of additional English (non-school), having seen the child’s textbook and workbook downloaded from the Internet and printed on a printer at home, on the contrary, praised the child.
In other words, this is all - lack of a creative approach, professional burnout and, ultimately, banal human laziness, in my opinion. Of course, I'm not against workbooks, outline maps, etc. in general - but only if they are used wisely. And there the teacher, according to his manual, can make photocopies for every child in the class, if he wishes. My son is in second grade. We bought workbooks for all subjects. A workbook on literary reading and the surrounding world - in my opinion, it is completely insanity in terms of content. Notebooks in Russian and mathematics were left almost half full. And what is the point of them? They only increase the weight of the backpack. From the second grade, they can be absolutely painlessly replaced with regular notebooks.

As for the fact that “the deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the NSO did not read the letter from the regional minister.” But they have read the budget and know better than the regional and federal ministers what it will be enough for. Notebooks are free if students return them to the library unwritten after the end of the educational process, because The educational kit is purchased by the school for 5 years. But then their meaning is lost, because they are needed in order to write in them.
So if you don’t want it, don’t buy it, but you’ll have to write it somewhere else. School textbooks no longer cost parents a penny - their children receive them for temporary use from the school library. But what about workbooks, contour maps and other “disposable” teaching aids? Our forum even posted a letter from NSO Education Minister Sergei Nelyubov, sent to subordinate institutions in August, which stated: if a workbook is included in a set of teaching aids, it should be given out free of charge!

Alas, alas, the deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the NSO did not read the letter from the regional minister, and the minister, as it turned out, had already changed his mind. So our elected representatives firmly decided to shift these expenses onto the shoulders of their parents...

Kettle
Don't make things up. The program must be approved and it automatically becomes training according to certain norms and standards.
This means that now the notebooks included in this program are issued by the school.
And if parents really want to engage in additional education, then let them do it after the main program by agreement with the teacher. Do not forget that according to the Education Law, parents have the right to participate in the educational process. For example, at a parent-teacher meeting, make a decision that they (the parents) suggest that the teacher use aids (workbooks) not provided for in the work program. And they promise to buy at their own expense (i.e. at the expense of the parents). Everything is legal. SantaAlex, Natalia B. if you fight for the implementation of the laws, there is a chance to achieve one of two things - either the benefits will be issued, or teachers will be forced to teach the entire class without using the benefits, because the use of these benefits is not officially stated in the school curriculum. Nikitina M.
You must ask the principal, in writing by application, if workbooks are part of the curriculum for your class. If they do, the school is obliged to issue it. If not, then studying with these notebooks is prohibited.
Because at school you can only do what is approved in the main program, for which a certain time is allotted.
If these notebooks are not included, but parents want to study with them, then they can do this after the main program.
I also want to draw your attention to the fact that photocopies are prohibited, both according to SanPin and copyright law.

Added after 9 seconds:

WHY CAN'T PAID CLASSES TAKE PLACE DURING THE STUDY PROCESS?
1) Resolution of the Chief State Sanitary Doctor of the Russian Federation dated December 29, 2010 N 189 “On approval of SanPiN 2.4.2.2821-10 “Sanitary and epidemiological requirements for the conditions and organization of training in educational institutions” (with amendments and additions) http://base .garant.ru/12183577/#block_1000
10.6. The educational weekly load is evenly distributed throughout the school week, with the volume of the maximum permissible load during the day being:
- for 1st grade students - should not exceed 4 lessons and 1 day per week - no more than 5 lessons, at the expense of a physical education lesson;
- for students in grades 2-4 - no more than 5 lessons, and once a week 6 lessons due to a physical education lesson with a 6-day school week;
- for students in grades 5-6 - no more than 6 lessons;
- for students in grades 7-11 - no more than 7 lessons.
The lesson schedule is compiled separately for compulsory and elective classes. Optional classes should be scheduled on days with the fewest required classes. It is recommended to take a break of at least 45 minutes between the start of extracurricular activities and the last lesson.
2) FEDERAL LAW of December 29, 2012 N 273-FZ (as amended on May 7, 2013 with amendments that entered into force on May 19, 2013) “ON EDUCATION IN THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION” http://zakonbase.ru/zakony/ob-obrazovanii /
Article 13, clause 10. Federal government bodies, government bodies of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, exercising public administration in the field of education, local government bodies, exercising management in the field of education, do not have the right to change the curriculum and calendar educational schedule of organizations carrying out educational activities.
The total that we have...
The curriculum and everything in the schedule is FREE.
The break between the academic load and electives (clubs) PAID or free (there are some) should be 45 minutes.

Added after 1 minute 19 seconds:

1) If there is no information on the school’s website about the curriculum of a general education institution for the next school year (which in itself is a gross violation of current legislation), then parents should request the school management to provide them with a local act, which should list textbooks and teaching aids , used in the educational process at their school and approved by the director of the educational institution. Until the parents have the appropriate document, they should not pay for the PT offered for payment.

2) If there are no recommended teaching aids in the local act, then parents can, in accordance with the teacher’s recommendations, of their own free will, absolutely voluntarily purchase them at their own expense. It must be remembered that the recommended teaching aids that are not included in the educational program of a given educational institution can be used by the teacher only as part of additional study of the subject.
Article 101.2. Paid educational services cannot be provided in place of educational activities, the financial support of which is provided through budgetary allocations from the federal budget, budgets of constituent entities of the Russian Federation, and local budgets. Funds received by organizations engaged in educational activities when providing such paid educational services are returned to the persons who paid for these services.
According to SanPiN 2.4.7.1166-02 (clause 2.2), educational publications, depending on their functional purpose in the learning process, are divided into textbooks, study guides and workshops. Also, a separate group includes educational publications of the new generation - a textbook-notebook, an individual workbook, a book for independent work by students, a problem book, a notebook for creative assignments, etc., which this classifier classifies as workshops. Since December 2014, paragraph 2.2 in SanPiN 2.4.71166-02 has lost force, and currently it is specified in SanPiN 2.4.71166-02 that the workbook is also a manual. Thus, there are no contradictions between GOST 7.60-2003 and SanPiN 2.4.71166-02, and the workbook in all standards is a “textbook”.
If an educational organization considers that one textbook will not be enough for a student to master a subject, but something else is needed, for example, a workbook, a problem book, an atlas or an outline map, and in principle it is impossible to do without all of this, then all these publications are included in the educational plan and are included in the training kit for this subject. In accordance with the approved curriculum, the general education organization submits an application to a higher organization for the purchase of these educational kits at the expense of budgetary allocations.
And the school standards they rely on
Article 8.1 of the Law “On Education”: The powers of state authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation in the field of education include:

3) provision of state guarantees for the implementation of the rights to receive public and free preschool education in municipal preschool educational organizations, public and free preschool, primary general, basic general, secondary general education in municipal general educational organizations, provision of additional education for children in municipal general educational organizations through the provision of subventions local budgets, including costs for wages, purchase of textbooks and teaching aids, teaching aids, games, toys (except for costs of maintaining buildings and paying for utilities), in accordance with standards determined by government authorities of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation;

10) organization of provision of municipal educational organizations and educational organizations of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation with textbooks in accordance with the federal list of textbooks recommended for use in the implementation of state accredited educational programs of primary general, basic general, secondary general education by organizations engaged in educational activities, and teaching aids, approved for use in the implementation of these educational programs;

Article 18.2 The standards for the provision of educational activities with educational publications per student in the main educational program are established by the relevant federal state educational standards.

Article 28.2. Educational organizations are free to determine the content of education, choose educational and methodological support, and educational technologies for the educational programs they implement.

Article 28.3. The competence of an educational organization in the established field of activity includes:

9) determination of the list of textbooks in accordance with the approved federal list of textbooks recommended for use in the implementation of state accredited educational programs of primary general, basic general, secondary general education by organizations engaged in educational activities, as well as teaching aids approved for use in the implementation of these educational programs programs by such organizations;

Article 35.1. Students mastering basic educational programs at the expense of budgetary allocations from the federal budget, budgets of constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local budgets within the limits of federal state educational standards, educational standards, organizations engaged in educational activities are provided with free textbooks and teaching aids for use while receiving education, and also educational and methodological materials, teaching and educational tools.

Article 35.2. The provision of textbooks and teaching aids, as well as educational and methodological materials, training and education tools for organizations carrying out educational activities according to basic educational programs, within the limits of federal state educational standards, educational standards is carried out at the expense of budgetary allocations of the federal budget, budgets of constituent entities of the Russian Federation and local budgets. If anyone knows, please tell me. Our school follows the “School 2100” program, which is not recommended for use, some say it is completely prohibited (?). They gave us textbooks and forced us to buy notebooks. So, teaching children according to such a program, the school is also obliged to issue notebooks? Is money allocated for them from the budget? Or should we start with a request to change the program? Wanting
in fact of the matter. The school has only one program, “School of Russia,” and workbooks for these textbooks, and there are no others. Tests and test papers (which they asked to buy) it is clear that in theory they could do without them, but workbooks on mathematics, the world around them and they can’t do without them, they only write in them.

Dear Colleagues!

With the entry into force of the Law “On Education in the Russian Federation,” the question arose of providing students with educational aids, including workbooks. At whose expense will they be purchased? Should they be purchased through subsidies and taken into account in the library collection?

Director of the Information Policy Department of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation Anna Usacheva stated that the issue of providing schoolchildren with workbooks is regulated by law: textbooks are provided to students free of charge during their studies.

As the head of the department explained, the law “On Education in the Russian Federation” clearly states that students are provided with textbooks and teaching aids, as well as educational and methodological materials, teaching and educational tools for free while receiving education. The school independently determines the list of teaching aids necessary to study any subject.

"If the school administration includes a specific printed workbook in the list of teaching aids used in educational activities, which is approved by order of the school director, then, of course, this workbook must be provided at the expense of the budget", RIA Novosti quotes the press service of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.

The ministry explained that the teacher has the right recommend, For example, as part of additional study, certain benefits that may not be included in the list by the educational organization."However, if they are not purchased at the expense of federal funds, the administration of a general education organization does not have the right to demand that parents purchase them compulsorily,”- the message says.

The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation has considered the issue of issuing free workbooks to schoolchildren at the suggestion of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation. The reason was the appeal of parents of schoolchildren about the violation of their children’s rights to education due to the failure of educational organizations to provide them with free workbooks. Let us remind you that this year in Kaliningrad the prosecutor filed a lawsuit in the interests of a schoolchild against an educational institution. The parents of a first-grader considered the purchase of workbooks at their own expense to be a violation of the child’s right to public and free education. The school proved the opposite.

Dear Colleagues! Thus, at the expense of subventions, those teaching aids (including workbooks) that are included in the list of teaching aids used in the educational process (there must be an order for the school) are purchased and taken into account in the library fund. Please note that textbooks published by publishers included in the List of Publishing Houses may be used in the educational process

Photo: Alexander Podshivalov / Lori Photobank

Is the school required to provide schoolchildren with free workbooks? The Prosecutor General's Office of the Ministry of Education will decide on the answer to this question and adopt a single standard, said Alexander Kurennoy, official representative of the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation. Now in different regions of Russia different schemes are used - in some places schoolchildren are provided with workbooks for free, and in others parents purchase them, since schools do not classify such notebooks as educational aids.

However, the Ministry of Education believes that the issue of providing schoolchildren with educational materials in Russia is fully regulated by federal law.

Textbooks and workbooks are provided free of charge

“The law clearly states that students are provided with textbooks and teaching aids, as well as educational and methodological materials, teaching and educational tools () for free while receiving education,” the department’s press service said in a statement. The Ministry of Education emphasizes that we are talking about textbooks and manuals included in the federal educational standard (FSES).

Classifies the workbook as a teaching aid and part of a teaching package.

The school itself determines what textbooks are needed

Each school independently determines the list of textbooks necessary for studying any subject. If a school has included a textbook or workbook in a program that is approved by the school director, they are required to provide them free of charge.

Free does not mean in paper form

However, it does not say that each student must receive his own copy of the textbook in the school library, as was the case before. Now the teacher can provide a link on the Internet where the textbook can be downloaded. Its printing becomes the concern of parents.

Additional textbooks are not provided for free, but you don’t have to buy them

The standards do not apply to additional textbooks and teaching aids that a teacher can use. “Today, there are several tens of thousands of teaching aids, and the teacher has the right to recommend, for example, as part of additional study, certain manuals that may not be included in the list by the school. However, if they are not purchased with federal funds, the administration of a general education organization does not have the right to require parents to purchase them,” the Ministry of Education emphasizes.

Life is more complicated than the norm

The worst situation in schools is with workbooks and teaching aids, which cannot be passed on “by inheritance.” They usually collect money from parents to purchase them. Thus, a set of workbooks for grade 3 under the “School of Russia” program costs about 4 thousand rubles. This includes notebooks on the “World around us”, the Russian language, comprehensive tests in subjects, etc.

The mother of a Moscow second-grader from the Eastern Administrative District, Galina Yakovleva, says:

“The school administration will find an opportunity to circumvent legislative norms. In any case, the teacher remains legally able to provide benefits electronically. This year we centrally collected 3,000 rubles for workbooks. Plus, we bought three more sets of workbooks for additional classes according to the teacher’s list.”

Where to complain

The Ministry of Education operates an electronic reception, where any parent who is faced with forced collection of money can send a complaint - they promise to initiate an inspection. In addition, you can still write a statement to the prosecutor's office.

Workbooks that are included in the list of school-approved teaching aids may be provided free of charge. This was stated by the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, responding to claims from the Prosecutor General's Office about the vagueness of the wording in the legislation regarding free textbooks.

At the beginning of April, the Russian Prosecutor General's Office invited the Ministry of Education and Science to decide whether workbooks should be issued free of charge or not. According to official representative of the Prosecutor General's Office Alexander Kurennoy, some schools now provide workbooks for free, others are refused, and parents purchase them at their own expense.

The reason for the investigation by the prosecutor's office was the appeal of parents who annually have to buy workbooks. Kurennaya reminded that in accordance with Part 1 of Art. 35 of the Law “On Education in the Russian Federation”, students mastering basic educational programs at the expense of budgetary funds within the limits of federal state educational standards are provided with free textbooks and teaching aids, as well as educational and methodological materials, teaching and educational tools for the duration of their education. But the article of the law does not contain the very concept of a teaching aid, including the definition of a workbook and its classification as a teaching aid. At the same time, the interstate standard GOST 7.60-2003 “System of standards for information, library and publishing. Editions. Main types. Terms and definitions”, introduced by Gosstandart on November 25, 2003, the workbook is classified as a textbook.

However, schools do not think that institutions should purchase workbooks. “We centrally purchase textbooks and teaching aids, replenishing the library collection. Over the next year, these books pass into the hands of other students. And the workbook is intended for individual lessons, where you need to complete tasks, circle, enter, and so on. That is, she can no longer pass on to other students. And purchasing new sets for everyone every year is an expensive pleasure. We are only just now stocked with textbooks, and even then not 100%. Very little money is allocated for the purchase of educational literature,” explains the director of the secondary school, Maria Gavryushina.

“We buy our own workbooks. During the entire time the child has been in school, only in the last two years have we been given textbooks for free; before that, everything was at our own expense,” says the mother of a tenth-grader, Ekaterina Voronova.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, at the same time, in Tatarstan, the Khabarovsk Territory, and St. Petersburg, workbooks are provided to children free of charge in schools.

“Currently, the issue of providing schoolchildren with educational aids, including workbooks, is regulated by law. The Federal Law “On Education in the Russian Federation” clearly states that students are provided with textbooks and teaching aids, as well as educational and methodological materials, teaching and educational tools for free while receiving education,” the Ministry of Education and Science explained.

According to the head of the general education department of the Ministry of Education of the Chelyabinsk region, Elena Tyurina, schools themselves decide whether to include workbooks in the curriculum or not: “The teacher himself decides whether a workbook is needed for the educational process or not. But I want to note that workbooks are a powerful methodological tool. Moreover, now they are being produced very colorful and interesting.” This was confirmed by the Ministry of Education.

“If the school administration includes a specific printed workbook in the list of teaching aids used in educational activities, which is approved by order of the school director, then, of course, this workbook should be provided at the expense of the budget,” said department director Anna Usacheva.

Some schools accommodate parents halfway and offer the use of printouts from workbooks. But according to Elena Tyurina, this practice is contrary to sanitary standards: “According to sanitary and epidemiological standards, educational materials must be printed on special paper that meets safety requirements.” Parent committees advise working more closely with school administrations and achieving what is prescribed by law.