Urgent changes to school rules have begun in Andalusia following a tragedy that shocked all of Spain. After the death of a teenager from Seville, regional authorities decided to revise their approach to tackling bullying in educational institutions. The new measures aim to ensure such incidents are neither ignored nor repeated in the future.
Changes to protocols
The regional government initiated a review of the protocol, which has been in place since 2011, after the death of Sandra Peña, a student at Irlandesas de Loreto School, was made public. According to El Confidencial, the school’s failure to respond promptly was one of the contributing factors to the tragedy. Authorities now require any suspicion of bullying to be reported immediately to the education inspectorate, rather than kept solely within the school.
Earlier, the school claimed it had taken certain steps, such as placing the victim and the alleged bullies in different classes. However, the victim’s mother insisted she had warned about the issue in advance and even provided psychological assessments. Despite this, no official notification was sent to the inspectorate, prompting the current reforms.
Accountability and consequences
An important new measure concerns accountability for bullying. It is now expected that transferring offenders to another class or school will become standard practice rather than an exception. Until now, it was usually the victims who were forced to change schools. To formalize these changes, two regional decrees regulating school discipline and procedures for serious violations will need to be amended.
Authorities admit that without tough measures the situation will not change. If violations are confirmed, a school may lose public funding, which would be the highest penalty for such institutions. The investigation is ongoing, and final conclusions are yet to come.
Reaction from the public and teachers
The parents of the deceased girl met with government representatives and insist that the investigation go through to the end. At the same time, teachers’ unions have come out in defense of the school’s educators, calling the accusations excessive. Experts believe that many teachers are unsure how to act in such situations and need further training.
In parallel with the official investigation, Sandra Peña’s family filed a lawsuit against the school and its staff, accusing them of negligence and harm to health. The court has already accepted the case, and new hearings and witness testimonies are expected.
Impact on other regions
The incident in Seville sparked nationwide debate. Other regions of Spain have also begun to review their response protocols for bullying cases. The surge in public attention to the issue is reminiscent of the situation with mass teachers’ strikes, when disagreements between authorities and educators led to a revision of statistics and further disputes over the real state of affairs — you can read more about this in the article about controversies surrounding the teachers’ strike data.
According to El Confidencial, Andalusia plans to tighten oversight of the new rules and hold additional training sessions for school staff in the near future. These measures are expected to help identify problems at an early stage and prevent tragedies.
In recent years, Spain has seen a rise in cases of school bullying. In 2025, several high-profile incidents in different regions demonstrated that authorities often intervened too late. Each such case increases the public demand for transparency and accountability in schools. Some autonomous communities have already introduced hotlines and anonymous reporting services for bullying. Experts note that only a comprehensive approach and continuous staff training can truly improve the situation.
