sou · H1B376 · 2013-10-31 00:00:00 — The Inquiry proposes that the National Schools Inspectorate be responsible for assessing and approving private education providers as governors for Sfi. Approval shall be granted if the provider is deemed to have the capacity to comply with the Education Act and other regulations governing Sfi. The Inquiry has considered whether it would be sufficient if the provider had the right to award grades, but has found that the demands that would then be placed on providers would not be sufficient to create the conditions for equitable Sfi programmes of high quality. The Inquiry therefore proposes that approved private education providers be governors for Sfi. So that private education providers will still be able to provide privately commissioned education programmes equivalent to Sfi outside the education system, the Inquiry proposes that the right to award grades that currently entitles private education providers to run courses and award grades in educational programmes equivalent to Sfi shall be included in an approval as a governor for Sfi. An important starting-point for the design of the disbursement system has been that the model must support the students progress and put a premium on grades. The Inquiry therefore proposes a voucher system with basic funding to start with and which is then disbursed gradually as the student gains pass grades in the various courses. for Education shall issue regulations governing the basic amount a municipality is to pay to a private education provider in those cases when the municipality does not offer Sfi under its own management. A private education provider approved as a governor for Sfi shall receive and be open for all eligible students who have chosen it as their preferred provider. In other words, an education provider shall not be able to refuse a student a place on a course using the excuse that it is full. It is important that the student is giving the option of starting the programme as soon as possible. The Inquiry proposes that the governor of the programme shall be obliged to ensure that students can start the programme as soon as possible after they have received information on their choice and no later than one month after this date. This proposal will harmonise the different time limits that have previously applied depending on whether a student belongs to the introduction group or not. According to the Inquirys terms of reference, the municipality shall continue to have the responsibility for receiving Sfi applicants. However, the Inquiry proposes certain changes that will expand and clarify this responsibility. The elements that are included in the municipalitys reception process are primarily an eligibility assessment, analysis of the applicants educational and vocational background, assessment of his or her language skills, of an individual study plan and guidance prior to the students choice of education provider. It is important that these elements are not delayed. The Inquiry therefore proposes that the home municipality be obliged to ensure that an applicant can choose an education provider as soon as possible after an application to participate in Sfi has been submitted. Municipalities shall continue to be obliged to offer Sfi to those who are entitled to participate in it. The introduction of a free- choice system with a greater number of governors in addition to the municipalities changes the municipalities obligation to provide the education. With the arrival of new actors as governors, there is no longer any reason to maintain the requirement for a municipal governor for adult education equivalent to the current regulation laid down in the Education Act. This change implies that it shall still be possible for the municipalities to conduct activities as a municipal governor as an alternative to private governors in the free-choice system in their own municipality. It is the municipality itself that decides in which situations it shall run educational programmes as a municipal governor. If there is no private education provider in the municipality or in another municipality within a reasonable distance who is an approved governor, the municipality shall continue to provide the education. According to the Inquirys proposal, a person who is eligible to participate in Sfi shall be able to choose to study at a private education provider who has been approved as a governor for Sfi, regardless of where this provider is located in the country. To enable the individual to make an informed choice of education provider, it is proposed that the home municipality be obliged to provide guidance based on the individuals needs and circumstances. It shall be possible to identify certain education providers as particularly suitable. The municipality must however never affect competition and the choice must always be the individuals. An individual study plan shall be established in connection with the guidance. It is important that the study plan is an evolving document that then accompanies the student to the education provider of his or her choice. The study plan shall support the students skills development and help her or him to combine the education with other activities. The Inquiry therefore proposes that the content of the study plan be expanded in relation to what is currently applicable, e.g. adding information on the analysis of the students educational and vocational background as well as their skills development, need for individualisation and flexibility and the reasons for any interruption in their studies or discontinuation of them as a result of insufficient progress or change of education provider. The Inquiry also proposes that the individual study plan be continuously monitored and not just revised when necessary and that the home municipality be responsible for offering study and vocational guidance prior to the start of the studies. This means that the Inquiry is also of the opinion that the home municipality shall be responsible for establishing the study plan and not, as is currently the case, the school principal. It is important to clearly separate the different responsibilities that lie with the municipality and the education provider respectively. The Inquiry wishes to point out that it is always the municipality that is responsible for the activities linked to various guidance activities. In other words, the municipality is responsible for ensuring a holistic view of the students educational situation is taken. The responsibility for the continuous development of the study plan should lie with the principal of the education provider, which means that the education provider is responsible for all the work done on the study plan that has to do with its day- to-day implementation. Study discontinuation and time limits In a free-choice system, it shall be possible to choose a different education provider if the student is not satisfied with the quality, design, individualisation or other aspect of the programme he or she is attending at a particular provider. In principle, the student should not have to motivate his or her decision to change provider; instead it should be granted without special consideration. The Inquiry finds that a time limit for the option of participating in Sfi should not be introduced. The right to participate in the studies shall instead be determined based on the students capacity to benefit from the education and on the progress she or he makes. The scope for excluding a student from Sfi on these grounds already exists in the current regulatory framework. In the Inquirys experience, the provision is not being applied as intended. The cause of this seems to be that there is often insufficient documentation proving that the student has made unsatisfactory progress. As a result of the Inquirys proposal to ensure that the individual study plan contains information on the students skills development and the support measures the individual needs, the conditions will be in place to use the provision on exclusion/cessation of studies in the way it was originally intended. Furthermore, the Inquiry proposes that the for Education issue support material for how to assess whether a student is to be suspended from a programme due to unsatisfactory progress. It is not uncommon for Sfi students to interrupt their studies. According to the current provisions, special grounds are required before a student who has interrupted their studies is entitled to start studying again. The Inquiry proposes instead that a student who has agreed on a study interruption with the education provider shall automatically be entitled to restart their studies. Special grounds shall only be required if agreement has not been reached. It is considered that such an arrangement will create the incentive for a dialogue that can lead to solutions other than a study interruption. Supervision, quality control, etc. The objective of supervision is to check whether the activity under review fulfils the requirements laid down in the applicable statutes. Central government supervision provides the prerequisites for high quality education programmes and helps to make equitable regardless of who the programme governor is. The Inquiry therefore proposes that the National Schools Inspectorate be responsible for the supervision of private education providers who have been approved as Sfi governors. It is proposed that the supervision be designed in accordance with the supervisory responsibility which the Schools Inspectorate already has for other types of education within the school system. This means that the Schools Inspectorate will have certain powers and have various courses of action at its disposal, including imposing sanctions and revoking permits. The Inquiry also proposes that private education providers who run Sfi programmes be inspected for quality by the Schools Inspectorate. Such an inspection shall be made of a few randomly selected schools within a certain limited area to demonstrate strengths and weaknesses. This may refer to the principals role or how the school develops the students skills. The education providers shall also be included in the national monitoring and evaluation system for education and other activities for which the for Education is responsible. This will also impart on the education providers an obligation to provide information. Private education providers shall be obliged to do systematic quality work and have routines for dealing with complaints. The aim of the quality work is for it to lead to improvements in the education. The municipality in which the activities take place shall have the right to scrutinise the activities of a private education provider who have been approved as an Sfi governor. Free choice in komvux The proposals concerning the free-choice system for komvux are based on the proposals submitted for a free-choice system for Sfi. The free-choice system for basic and upper secondary level is sometimes not entirely commensurate with what is proposed to apply to Sfi. It is the proposals that differ from the Sfi proposals that are summarised in this section. The Education Act states that the home municipality is responsible for ensuring that a person who is entitled to participate in an educational programme and wishes to participate can actually do so. The municipalities shall also strive to offer education at upper secondary level that corresponds to the demand and need. The municipality therefore needs to clarify the focus and scope of komvux. year, the municipality shall establish and publicise the focus and scope of the range of komvux courses it offers. Education providers need to be aware of this as it constitutes a basis from their and activities in the municipality. The individual also needs to know which resources he or she is entitled to and can utilise. The responsibility for reception and admission is built up in the same way for the basic level komvux as it is for Sfi. The system for upper secondary komvux is designed slightly differently since in most cases there is no mandatory right to education similar to the one for basic level komvux and Sfi. Upon application, it is to be determined whether the courses applied for are included in the municipalitys range of programmes and, based on this, the municipality shall then decide to what extent it shall undertake to meet the costs of the courses applied for. The municipalitys decision on reception is not therefore based purely on an assessment of the applicants eligibility but a decision on the municipalitys undertaking to meet the costs of the education is also included. The Inquiry proposes that the municipalities establish remuneration amounts for all the courses they intend to offer, but central government shall set minimum amounts for courses that are covered by rights legislation. For these courses, the municipality may set a higher but never a lower remuneration amount than that proposed by central government. The municipalities have complete freedom to price courses individually or by dividing them up into different course groups. The municipality must be able to justify the size of the remuneration amounts, which, as far as possible, shall be based on the actual costs incurred by the municipality for its own activities. The Inquiry proposes an incentive structure in which parts of the remuneration to the private education provider are payable only once the student has achieved a pass grade. If this does not occur, that part of the remuneration will not be disbursed. 70 percent of the total remuneration for the course is to be paid to the private education provider at regular intervals during the course of the programme. The remaining 30 percent is disbursed once the student has been awarded a pass grade on the course. It is the Inquirys opinion that the option of inter-municipal remuneration which is currently open to the municipalities cannot be combined with a free-choice system. In such a system, it is the student her/himself who chooses a private education provider. The home municipality can organise its own komvux programmes and hence becomes one of the options the student can choose. But municipalities other than the home municipality are not to compete in the free-choice system beside private education providers. This impedes competition and makes it more difficult for private governors to establish themselves and there is a risk of the municipalities starting to act in a commercial capacity. The Inquiry is of the opinion that this does not alter the scope of the municipalities for individual solutions. In cases where the free-choice system does not manage to meet the educational needs of the individuals, it will be entirely possible for the municipalities, even under the proposed system, to cooperate on komvux through local authority associations, joint committees or collaborative agreements. Sfi for the introduction group It is advantageous to give the the possibility to procure Sfi for new arrivals who are covered by the Act (2010:197) on activities for certain new arrivals. will then have the opportunity to coordinate Sfi with and adapt it to other employment measures in a completely different way to what is currently possible. The Inquiry proposes that it shall be possible for the to procure Sfi in com- bination with employment measures that can be planned in connection with the of introduction plans and deemed to be appropriate for the new arrival. Procured Sfi will be relevant if it is deemed effective and appropriate for the individual to undergo several different introduction measures from one and the same supplier. There may also be other measures that are appropriate to combine in this context, e.g. work experience. It will then also be possible to customise language training to a specific vocational area or group people together with the same vocational or educational background. The private education provider that can be procured by the shall be an approved governor in accordance with what is applicable to the proposal for a free-choice system. The Inquiry proposes that the option of the to procure Sfi be regulated in a separate piece of legislation. It will not be possible for the municipalities to run adult education programmes on contract whilst retaining governorship once a free- choice system is introduced. It is not possible to mix different forms of procurement for the same service on the same market. This could eliminate price competition. Situations may arise however when no private education providers establish themselves in the free-choice system to run some of the courses that a municipality or collaborating region has included in the range of programmes it offers. This kind of situation is mainly expected to arise for upper secondary vocational courses with a high degree of specialisation, where few if any private education providers have the competence required to carry out the programmes. In such cases, a municipality could be left without anyone to run the sought-after courses. The Inquiry proposes that the right of municipalities, county councils and private governors to, with retained governorship, conclude agreements with a natural person or legal entity to carry out tasks within komvux (on contract) be limited to tasks that concern tuition in subjects at upper secondary level that have a vocationally oriented profile. Regarding Sfi, the Inquiry sees no need for a contract option since several private education providers are expected to establish themselves within the framework of the free-choice system. The consequences of the proposals The Inquirys proposals will have consequences for students on municipal adult education programmes, private education providers and central agencies. The proposals for a free-choice system in komvux mean that the students themselves will have a greater number of providers to choose from than they do today. It will be easier for students to find more individualised solutions within the framework of a wider and more varied range of educational programmes. The Inquirys assessment is that the incentive-based remuneration to private education providers will have a positive effect on the students rate of progress in Sfi. At the basic and upper secondary level, more students will be expected to achieve the knowledge requirements. For the municipalities, a free-choice system in komvux will mean that private education providers can be approved as governors for the education and establish themselves in the municipality. This may affect how the municipalities organise their own activities. The municipalities will still have the obligation to supply komvux education governed by rights legislation if this type of education is not reasonably accessible at a private governor. The proposed free-choice system with central approval of private education providers as governors means that the procurement of education in accordance with the Public Procurement Act will not be relevant. The proposed remuneration models for Sfi and basic/upper secondary level respectively will reduce the burden of administration on municipalities that currently procure the education. that do not currently procure education may need to develop administrative systems for the disbursement of remunerations to private education providers. Experience of this can be found in most municipalities, for example relating to the disbursement of remunerations to independent schools. The municipalities currently bear the responsibility for the costs of komvux regardless of whether the education is run under their own management or is procured. The municipalities shall establish the levels of remuneration in the free-choice system using the costs for their own activities as a basis. The proposals on a free-choice system are expected to be cost-neutral for the municipalities, as they will not lead to any change in the number of programmes implemented or a change in cost levels for each individual programme. Integration and self-sufficiency are important goals for the education measures. All in all, the proposals shall lead to positive socioeconomic consequences in the form of e.g. reduced maintenance support and increased tax revenue for the municipalities. For private education providers, the proposals will primarily lead to them being able to establish themselves in all municipalities in the country that have activities. Providers will be able to take a longer-term approach and there will be greater stability in their activities as a result of their approval as governors being valid indefinitely rather than for limited periods as is currently the case under the Public Procurement Act. Private education providers can design their activities using their own ideas to a much greater extent than previously, which also increases their scope for niching their activities and competing on the basis of a particular profile. This should also lead to business development and will increase the level of innovation at the private education providers. Private education providers can now compete to a greater extent on good quality instead of on low price. The proposal to give the the option of procuring Sfi for the introduction group in combination with employment measures will increase the scope of the Service to coordinate the activities that are to be included in an introduction plan. The option of procuring Sfi will increase the costs for the . A free-choice system in komvux will increase the workload of the School Inspectorate in terms of their permitting, supervision and knowledge dissemination activities. The cost effects of this are however deemed to be limited. The proposal relating to basic Swedish as a second language as a subject will require a new syllabus to be developed by the for Education. shall also develop national price lists for Sfi and for rights-controlled course at the basic and upper secondary level. The costs for this are expected to be met within the existing framework. lag om vuxenutbildning i svenska för invandrare kombinerad med arbetsmarknadspolitiska åtgärder; Härigenom föreskrivs följande. 1 § En enskild huvudman för vuxenutbildning i svenska för invandrare enligt skollagen (2010:800) får på uppdrag av Arbetsförmedlingen och mot särskild ersättning anordna sådan utbild- ning för personer som Arbetsförmedlingen utser. Arbetsförmedlingen får bara lämna ett sådant uppdrag i kombination med åtgärder som ingår i ett arbetsmarknadspolitiskt program enligt lagen (2000:625) om arbetsmarknadspolitiska program. 2 § Utbildning enligt denna lag får endast tillhandahållas för per- soner som har en etableringsplan enligt lagen (2010:197) om eta- bleringsinsatser för vissa nyanlända invandrare. 3 § Huvudmannen ansvarar för att eleven har tillgång till sådan väg- ledning som anges i 2 kap. 29 § skollagen (2010:800). För utbild- ningen tillämpas i övrigt bestämmelserna i skollagen om vuxenutbildning i svenska för invandrare med de undantag som framgår av denna lag. 4 § Bestämmelserna i 20 kap. 25–27 §§ skollagen (2010:800) om samverkan med arbetslivet gäller inte för utbildning enligt denna lag. 5 § Bestämmelserna i 20 kap. 9, 9 b och 30-34 §§ skollagen (2010:800) om rätt att delta, mottagande, antagning, rätt att fullfölja utbildningen och möjligheten att på nytt beredas plats gäller inte för utbildning enligt denna lag. 6 § Bestämmelsen i 27 kap. 13 § skollagen (2010:800) om att beslut av en enskild huvudman får överklagas hos Skolväsendets över- klagandenämnd gäller inte utbildning enligt denna lag. 7 § Regeringen eller den myndighet som regeringen bestämmer får meddela ytterligare föreskrifter om utbildning enligt denna lag. Denna lag träder i kraft . lag om ändring i semesterlagen (1977:480) Härigenom föreskrivs i fråga om semesterlagen (1977:480) att 17 b § ska ha följande lydelse.