Language rights in Catalonia

Catalonia’s independence project has given rise to the most serious constitutional crisis Spain has seen in recent times. The Catalan regional government has called a referendum on independence on November 9 that has no legal status and will be roundly impugned by the Constitutional Court once it is announced in writing. In the midst of this crisis, the High Court of Justice in Catalonia has ordered schools to teach 25% of classes in Spanish. This ruling follows a series of others laid down by this and other courts calling for bilingual education. In this article we will examine the linguistic model that prevails in Catalan schools and discuss whether it is the best model for a bilingual community such as Catalonia.