Linguistic control in schools

The linguistic inspection was instituted by article 18 of the law of 30 July 1963 concerning language use in education. It stipulated that the linguistic inspection is responsible for constantly monitoring application of the provisions of the law concerning the linguistic register of the students.

By virtue of article 129, § 1st of the Constitution, the French Community and the Flemish Community regulate the use of languages, but by virtue of article 129, § 2 of the Constitution this does not apply to the bilingual Brussels-Capital Region, for the municipalities of the linguistic border or for the municipalities of the periphery. That is why linguistic inspection has remained an essentially federal matter (cf. Supreme Administrative Court of Belgium, administrative section, decree n° 39.570 of 2 June 1992).

The Royal Decree of 30 November 1966 defining the model of the linguistic certificate and of the linguistic declaration provided for by article 17, paragraph 5, of the law of 30 July 1963 and the Royal Decree of 14 March 1997 determining the operation of the linguistic inspection with regard to education establish the conditions under which the Federal Authority exercises the linguistic control in educational establishments of the municipalities endowed with "a special linguistic regime with a view to protecting their minorities" (the municipalities of the periphery and the municipalities of the linguistic border and of the Region of Brussels-Capital).
According to article 3 of the Royal Decree of 14 March 1997 determining the operation of the linguistic inspection with regard to education, the duty of the linguistic inspection is to verify the first inscription of the student. Article 1st of the above-mentioned Royal Decree establishes that the linguistic inspection is exercised by four linguistic inspectors, two Dutch-speaking and two French-speaking.

The Federal Science Policy Office also acts as the secretariat of the linguistic inspection Commission and Jury with regard to education, instituted within this framework and composed of magistrates and senior officials. These two instances of appeal have the mission of resolving any disputes which might arise between either between inspectors from different language rolls, or between the inspectors, the parents and students. Furthermore, the Jury is the instance of appeal with relation to the decisions of the Commission.