Language Ombudswoman on changes to the language law in education: we will stand in defense of our current law

State Language Protection Commissioner Olena Ivanovska has stated that the Secretariat of the Language Ombudswoman will stand in defense of the language law provisions regarding the language of education. Speaking at a press conference in KYIV on Tuesday, Ivanovska responded to an Interfax-Ukraine inquiry about whether bill No. 13072 might narrow the current language law provisions. She emphasized that the Secretariat will continue to uphold the statutes asserting that the state language is the language of instruction and education.

As previously reported, bill No. 13072, "On Amendments to Certain Laws Regarding the Use of Language in the Educational Process," was registered in the Verkhovna Rada in March 2025. The bill proposes several key measures, including granting parents the right to propose or approve an expanded list of subjects to be taught in the state language within classes using European Union minority languages for instruction. It also mandates that parents of students participate in creating and maintaining a Ukrainian-speaking educational environment within educational institutions. Furthermore, the project provides students who received secondary education in another language the right to receive External Independent Evaluation (ZNO) tasks translated into that language, with the exception of language-related subjects and the history of Ukraine.

Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Taras Kachka suggested that the adoption of this law would facilitate cooperation with Hungary. According to Kachka, the bill was developed as part of an action plan to protect the rights of national minorities and fulfills Ukraine’s obligations under the first cluster of the EU accession negotiation process.