179th Regular Session of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia

The proposed amendments to the Act on the Organisation and Financing of Education introduce the approval of workbooks and combined textbooks by the Expert Councils of the Republic of Slovenia for general and vocational education, as well as a professional review of teaching materials recommended with the entry into force of new curricula. At present, the system at the national level provides only for the approval of textbooks. The new arrangement will contribute to higher-quality teaching materials and address shortcomings identified in practice. As a result, teaching materials will be of higher quality, while the aim is also to reduce excessive differences in the cost of learning materials between schools across Slovenia. The draft Act therefore introduces a uniform approval process for textbooks, workbooks, and combined textbooks by the Expert Council of the Republic of Slovenia for General Education and the Expert Council of the Republic of Slovenia for Vocational and Technical Education, based on comparable criteria. The teaching materials (textbooks, workbooks, and combined textbooks) to be approved by the relevant Expert Council will be those proposed by the curriculum committees that prepared the new curricula. For parents, this will mean higher-quality, verified, content-aligned, and more affordable learning sets — a key element in ensuring equal quality of education in all schools across the country.

The proposed update of the Act on the Guidance of Children with Special Needs introduces key changes aimed at developing a modern, inclusive education system in the Republic of Slovenia. The solutions are designed to ensure greater efficiency and fairness in the system for guiding children with special needs, with the goal of providing better access to support, streamlining procedures, and responding more swiftly to the needs of children and their families. The proposal introduces a new category of children with special needs — children with deafblindness — who have not yet been specifically defined in legislation. This will enable better-tailored education for deafblind children. The draft Act also defines that when a school identifies learning difficulties or the need for additional support, the child must receive support immediately, and not only after the completion of the guidance procedure. Support will be provided by teachers through hours allocated within the extended programme in primary schools. The proposed novelties also expand the right to admission to residential care at schools with adapted programmes or institutions for the education of children with special needs. This change will allow pupils and students who attend such schools or institutions on a daily basis to be placed in full-time care occasionally. The solution is primarily intended to relieve families while strengthening the supportive role of schools and institutions.

One of the main objectives of the amendments to the Medical Service Act is to increase, in the long term, the number of family doctors and emergency medicine specialists, by introducing more favourable conditions for transitioning from emergency to family medicine. Specialists in emergency medicine will be able, after a certain period of work in their field, to enter a specialisation in family medicine without negative financial consequences, as they will receive a specialist’s salary during the second specialisation. This measure aims to increase interest in the emergency medicine specialisation while also providing additional family medicine specialists, thereby strengthening primary healthcare. The proposal also allows for an additional call for medical specialisation positions in areas with the highest needs in the public healthcare network, where all positions in the regular call were filled. This will ensure appropriate consideration of actual needs within the public healthcare network. The grounds for revoking a medical licence are being expanded — now also in cases of final convictions for sexual offences, corruption, serious criminal acts, or in cases of measures imposed by foreign regulatory authorities that restrict or prohibit the doctor’s practice abroad. The draft Act transfers the competence for adopting certain implementing regulations from the Chamber to the Ministry. Currently, most implementing regulations defined by law are adopted by the Chamber with the Minister’s consent. The transfer of competence resolves coordination issues and delays in adopting implementing regulations. The Chamber will, however, retain an important role, as the Ministry will be required to obtain its opinion before any changes to implementing regulations. Due to inconsistent interpretations of the competences of doctors with a basic licence, the amendment includes a clearer definition of their scope of practice, which is crucial for ensuring the quality and safety of patient care. The amendment also more precisely defines the grounds for terminating specialisation and more appropriately regulates the specialist trainee’s obligation to reimburse the costs of specialisation in case of failure to fulfil their obligations. Additionally, the amendment stipulates that trainees selected in the national call must be employed by a provider within the public healthcare network and not by a private provider, thereby strengthening the public healthcare system.

The Government also adopted draft amendments to the Drivers Act, raising the minimum age for riding e-scooters and mopeds with a design speed not exceeding 25 km/h. Under the proposal, these vehicles may only be ridden by persons aged 15 or older. The age of 15 reflects the existing provision of the Drivers Act, which in Article 61 already sets 15 years as the minimum age for driving AM-category motor vehicles (up to 45 km/h), for which a driving test is required. The European Transport Safety Council also recommends a minimum age of 16 for riding e-scooters or the same minimum age as for mopeds. With this proposed change, Slovenia is aligning itself with European practices, such as Finland’s, and fulfilling the objectives of the Resolution on the National Road Safety Programme 2023–2030, which prioritises increasing the safety of children and adolescents in traffic. Raising the minimum age is expected to significantly contribute to improved road safety.

The main objective of the amendments to the Weapons Act is to ensure a higher level of safety in Slovenia and to reduce firearms-related crime as far as possible. The amendment introduces a temporary measure allowing holders of firearms or ammunition without a valid firearms licence, as well as holders of illegal firearms or ammunition (including explosive weapons such as bombs, mines, and grenades), to surrender such items to the police. This measure is temporary and will be in force until 31 January 2026. Firearms and ammunition will be collected directly by the police from the holder, following prior notification. The police will issue the holder a certificate containing information about the holder and the surrendered weapons or ammunition. Upon surrender, the police will verify the holder’s identity and enter the relevant information into the registry maintained under the Police Duties and Powers Act. The surrendered weapons or ammunition will be handed over to the Ministry of the Interior. Holders cannot obtain a firearms licence for surrendered items. The weapons or ammunition may be destroyed, donated to a museum, or used for police training purposes. A person who surrenders weapons or ammunition under this temporary amnesty will not be prosecuted for possessing illegal firearms. No compensation or reimbursement of any kind will be provided.