LODE

   The Ley Orgánica de Derecho a la Education (Law of Entitlement to Education) was an attempt to give legislative effect to certain provisions of the constitution of 1978, which imposed on the state the obligation to provide free compulsory elementary education at public expense. The constitution established the right to found schools, the rights of parents to choose the kind of moral and religious education they wished for their children, and protected academic freedom and freedom of conscience. The state, for its part, was obliged to guarantee access to education for all citizens. The LODE (1984) provided for management and control structures for schools and distinguished between public, private and maintained schools, thereby attempting to achieve equality of opportunity within a mixed system.

   See also: BUP; COU; FP; LOGSE

   Further reading

   - Bosch, F. and Díaz, (1988) La educación en España. Una perspectiva económica, Barcelona: Ariel.

   ISIDRO FADRIQUE