CHANCELLOR OF JUSTICE AS THE PREVENTIVE MECHANISM X. SPECIAL SCHOOLS After the closing of Puiatu Special School in 2009 there are two schools for children requiring special educational measures due to behavioural problems (i.e. special schools): Tapa Special School for boys and Kaagvere Special School for girls. On 4 November 2010, the Chancellor carried out an unannounced inspection visit to Kaagvere Special School (Inspection visit to Kaagvere Special School, case No 79/102058). The Chancellor in his annual action plan schedules inspection visits to special schools at intervals which enable making a comprehensive visit to each special school at least once every three years (desirably even more often). In addition, the Chancellor collects information about the situation in special schools from the complaints received by the Chancellor, as well as from the media, and, if necessary, a particular special school can be visited more frequently. The choice of the inspected institution in case of Kaagvere Special School was based first and foremost on the fact that the Chancellor had received information from various sources about a possible violation of fundamental rights of pupils at the school. The choice was also based on the consideration that more than three years had passed from the Chancellor’s previous comprehensive visit to the school. The Chancellor has previously inspected Kaagvere Special School on several occasions, the latest visit took place in 2006 (Inspection visit to Kaagvere Special School, case 7-9/061391).33 Kaagvere Special School is a basic school in the area of government of the Ministry of Education and Research for girls aged 10−17 requiring special educational measures due to behavioural problems. The main objectives of the school according to its statute include the following: enable pupils requiring special educational measures due to behavioural problems to comply with the compulsory school attendance duty and acquire basic education; to develop a personality who copes with their life and work and abides by legal as well as social rules; to prevent potential violations of law by pupils. The languages of instruction at the school are Russian and Estonian. Pupils are referred to the school on the basis of a court ruling. A request to the court is made by the juvenile committee of the child’s residence. Minors may also be referred to the school by the court on the basis of a court judgment. The court may refer a pupil to Kaagvere Special School for a period of one or two years. During the inspection of Kaagvere Special School in 2010, once again a problem was raised that special schools still have to operate in an insufficient legal environment. Kaagvere Special School also operates in the facilities not suitable for a special school. Such an environment inevitably has a negative effect on the activities and effectiveness of the school. Several shortcomings found during the inspection were indeed due to the insufficiency of the legislation regulating the operation of the school. The Chancellor has pointed out the need to revise the legislation regulating the operation of special schools already in the summaries of his previous inspection visits34 and the Minister of Education and Research has admitted the problem. Unfortunately, the situation with the legislation has not improved in comparison to the previous year. For example, there is still no functioning system for ensuring follow-up care for pupils who have left the special school. The new Juvenile Sanctions Act has also still not been adopted. The Act would create a new legal basis for bringing back to a school pupils who have departed without permission, and for the use of forced return in case of necessity. Currently, there is no legal basis for security check of pupils of a special school by school staff. Staff of a special school have the right to inspect a child’s belongings in the presence of the child and remove prohibited items if found, but the school staff have no right to search the clothes a child is wearing or carry out a pat-down security check. There is still no analysis to find out how many pupils with mental retardation or mental problems are currently attending special schools or what the needs of such pupil are. In conclusion, it could be noted that already more than two years ago the Minister of Education and Research by his order No 1570 of 19 December 2008 approved “The conceptual bases for schools for 62 33 See the Chancellor of Justice overview of 2006, pp 114-119. Available online: http://www.oiguskantsler.ee/public/resources/ editor/File/00__levaade_2006_ingl_k__L_PLIK.pdf. 34 See, e.g., the summary of the Chancellor of Justice inspection visit to Tapa Special School in September 2009. Available online: http://www.oiguskantsler.ee/public/resources/editor/File/Vaarkohtlemise_ennetamine/2009/Kontrollkaigud/Tapa_kontrollk_igu_kokkuv_te_2009.pdf .