Inspired by the regulation of Keila rural municipality, the Chancellor also randomly scrutinised procedures for the admission of children to and dismissal from pre-school child care institutions in other rural municipalities and cities. The Chancellor had to note that the majority of rural municipality and city authorities were in violation of the Act, having also established additional substantive conditions for the admission and dismissal besides the procedural rules. As this seemed to be an overall attempt to resolve the shortage of kindergarten places by unlawful means, the Chancellor contacted the Minister of Education and Research and, on the one hand, drew the Minister’s attention to such a widespread misuse of a norm (overstepping the authority) and, on the other hand, called the Minister to find a solution to the problem. The Minister in his reply promised to analyse the conditions for the admission of children to and dismissal from pre-school child care institutions, and to provide guidance to local authorities with regard to this issue. PART II PART III More specifically, Keila rural municipality required that, in order to obtain a place in a kindergarten, in addition to the child himself or herself both of the child’s parents also had to be registered as the inhabitants of the municipality, and the child could be two to seven years old. However, under the Act, only the child’s residence according to the population register has significance and a child is entitled to a kindergarten place already from the age of 1.5 years. A child could be dismissed from a pre-school child care institution in Keila rural municipality if a medical decision for this existed, if a parent or a caregiver had not paid the kindergarten fee for two months, or if the child had been absent from a kindergarten for unknown reasons for a month. In all these cases the Chancellor found that the legislator had not authorised Keila rural municipality administration to establish such additional conditions. The Chancellor also drew the attention of Keila rural municipality administration to these contradictions. The rural municipality administration largely admitted the violations and eliminated them by establishing a new procedure for the admission of children to and dismissal from pre-school child care institutions on 24 January 2013. However, the rural municipality administration did not agree to abolish the condition that at least one of the parents must be registered as a resident of Keila municipality in order to grant a child a kindergarten place. PART I CANCELLOR OF JUSTICE AS OMBUDSMAN FOR CHILDREN Besides resolving the problem of shortage of kindergarten places, it is also important to create for all children, regardless of their special needs, equal opportunities for care and acquiring preschool education. Ensuring equal opportunities for all children presumes that the state should create the conditions which take into account the needs of children with special needs and, inter alia, will make available the necessary support services. During the reporting year, the Ministry of Education and Research initiated amendment of the Pre-school Child Care Institutions Act. According to the Draft Act for the Amendment of the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act and other relating Acts, there is also a wish to amend the current Pre-school Child Care Institutions Act.36 One of the amendments suggests eliminating the duty of the Minister of Education and Research to establish minimum staff levels for child care institutions. According to the current minimum staff levels, in certain conditions child care institutions are required to establish positions of support specialists (speech therapist, special education teacher). However, entry into force of the planned amendment would create a situation where the Pre-school Child Care Institutions Act would not clearly provide for the obligation of managers of child care institutions to ensure access to a speech therapist and a special education teacher in these institutions. According to the Chancellor’s assessment, this may worsen the situation of children with special needs, as the support services needed by them would no longer be necessarily available. 36 The Draft Act for the Amendment of the Basic Schools and Upper Secondary Schools Act and relating Acts, as at 13 December 2012, No 340 SE. 17