Families whose children miss school without a valid reason will lose child benefits only for the month of the absences, not for a whole year. That is what changes to the Family Allowances for Children Act propose. The Council of Ministers sent them to parliament on 23 September.
The current ban on paying the benefit again for 12 months after it stops would also go. The penalty stays, but it covers one month. After that, the family can get the money again without waiting a year.
The thresholds do not change. The benefit stops if a child in compulsory pre-school misses more than 3 days in a month without a valid reason. For school pupils, the limit is 5 unexcused school hours in the same month.
The changes also cover one-off payments for pupils in grades 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8. Parents will no longer have to pay them back just because of 5 unexcused hours in a month. They will have to repay the money if the child never starts school, or does not keep studying through the second term to the end of the school year.
State institutions say the one-year ban does not help keep children in school. In the notes to the bill, the government says the current approach has not given the results expected.
An analysis by the Social Assistance Agency shows that cutting off benefits for a long time does not necessarily lead to better school attendance. "The penalty of ending monthly benefits does not encourage school attendance, and in some cases it leads to the child dropping out of education," the notes say.
The authors of the bill also point out that unexcused absences do not necessarily mean a pupil has stopped studying or does not go to school. The government wants parents to stay financially responsible for making sure their child goes to school regularly, but without leaving families without state help for long.
On 7 October, the Social Assistance Directorate in Sozopol said that parents of children in grades 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8 in Sozopol municipality have until 15 October to submit an application and declaration for the one-off payment for pupils.
The changes are not yet in force. Members of parliament will make the final decision.