Education Council of the Netherlands advises against proposed supervision law for informal education

October 30, 2025

The Education Council of the Netherlands (Onderwijsraad) has issued formal advice on the government’s Wetsvoorstel toezicht informeel onderwijs. The Council concludes that monitoring informal education for signs of hate speech, discrimination, or incitement to violence should fall under the criminal justice system rather than education law.

According to the Council, law enforcement bodies are better equipped for such tasks, and using education legislation would be ineffective and potentially infringe on fundamental rights. The advice emphasizes that the proposed law would extend oversight too broadly — covering large areas of social and community life where no legitimate basis for state supervision exists.

The Education Council regularly advises the Dutch government and parliament on education policy and legislation. The full advisory report (in Dutch) is available on the Education Council of the Netherlands website.

The Council's report is in line with objections from other groups, as well as with HLE Network's own public statement, which highlights the potential negative impact of the proposed law on the heritage language education sector.