Two municipalities and state institutions are trying to resolve the prolonged situation with an aggressive student at Ozolnieki Secondary School, the LETA agency has found.
In February, several media outlets reported on an aggressive student at Ozolnieki Secondary School, from whom both students and teachers are suffering emotionally and physically. The Jelgava Municipality acknowledged to the LETA agency that the situation at Ozolnieki Secondary School has been on the municipality's agenda for several years, but it is complicated by the involvement of several municipalities and state institutions in seeking a solution.
"With the involvement of the Education Department of Jelgava Municipality and Ozolnieki Secondary School, the most suitable solutions are being sought to regulate the situation in the best interests of the specific child, while also ensuring the rights of other students to a safe environment, quality education, respectful treatment, and the rights of school teachers to a favorable and safe working environment," the municipality stated.
Local authorities also emphasize that any form of violence in an educational institution is unacceptable — neither against students, nor teachers, nor other school staff.
Resolving such complex cases is not only about responding to one specific incident but also involves systematic preventive work, the municipality notes. The school regularly conducts educational and preventive activities that promote respectful mutual communication, conflict resolution skills, and responsible behavior. At the same time, the municipality emphasizes the importance of parents' roles, their responsibility, and participation in the educational process and collaboration with the educational institution and specialists to jointly improve learning outcomes and student behavior.
"Observing the behavioral and communication characteristics of the student, and taking into account the information available to the educational institution, since 2022, the student at Ozolnieki Secondary School has been provided with support, including the assignment of a teaching assistant to this student," the municipality reported.
In May 2022, due to physical violence by the child against another student, the educational institution informed the Child Protection Center (CPC), the orphan court of Jelgava, and the Social Affairs Department of Jelgava, urgently requesting support for the family so that the child could receive assistance from specialists and behavioral difficulties could be resolved or reduced to the extent that the child could integrate into the educational institution without threatening the safety, health, and lives of other children. In this statement, the educational institution also indicated that the parents of classmates are concerned about the safety of their children at school.
Additionally, the Education Department of Jelgava Municipality has involved several institutions since 2022 to address the case. The resolution of the situation involves the Child Rights Oversight Service of the Child Protection Center, the Violence Intervention Department, the Child Rights Protection Department, the Oversight Department of the Orphan Courts, the State Education Quality Service, the Ombudsman’s Office, the South Zemgale Division of the Zemgale Region State Police (SP), the Municipal Police of Jelgava Municipality, the orphan court of Jelgava, the orphan court of Jelgava Municipality, the Social Affairs Department of Jelgava, the Social Service of Jelgava Municipality, the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers of Latvia, and the Legal Department of Jelgava Municipality. Several inter-agency meetings of various levels have been held.
"The complexity of the situation also lies in the fact that two municipalities are involved in its resolution. Now, considering the escalation of the situation, meetings of the staff of the responsible institutions of both involved municipalities — Jelgava Municipality and the city of Jelgava — are being organized again, trying to achieve the best possible solution that satisfies all parties," the municipality claims.
An administrative case is also underway in the orphan court of the municipality, within which "necessary actions are being taken to ensure the interests of the child."
For its part, the State Police informed the LETA agency that several administrative processes have been initiated regarding the student, as well as internal investigations into the facts of physical and emotional violence. Four administrative cases are currently under review in the Child Affairs Subcommittee of the Administrative Committee of Jelgava.
The police do not provide further comments on these cases.
The Administrative Commission of Jelgava Municipality also reports that according to the law "On the Application of Compulsory Educational Measures to Children," cases involving the application of such measures to children are considered in closed sessions of the administrative commission, and information about the cases is not subject to disclosure.
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