Just as the issue of schools imparting politics quickly turns conversations into a discussion of ikastolas. The issue of discrimination in education is mostly talked about in reference to public schools. The dramatic changes public education has undergone have primarily unsettled the notion of a Spanish public school. Unlike ikastolas, change in the public sector came as a sharp departure from the pre-1982 main objective: to unite all of Spanish territory with only one language of education and access. This change from outside > in has resulted in the disempowerment of teacher and some parents. Teachers, many of which had relocated from other Spanish provinces, suddenly saw their experience and preparation being undermined because of their lack of competence in a language that had never before been a requisite for teaching. There were also parents who expected their children to attend the same public school system they knew they feel their choice was taken from them, they are alienated from the curriculum and the education that their children are receiving.

Discussion of discrimination against Spanish speakers sometimes revolves around ikastolas but this is usually not the case because of the population that chooses to attend and work in ikastolas have already made a choice to accept Basque as the dominant language for education. In ikastolas discrimination against Spanish speakers is then a matter of subtle peer pressure and innuendo that affects individuals that are not native Basque speakers and feel excluded or disregarded on occasion or might refer to years when access to ikastolas actively discriminated against Spanish speakers in favor of native Basque speakers.

When survey participants were asked whether education discriminated against Spanish Speakers, the overwhelming majority (64%) stated that it did not. The 15% that agreed to the discrimination were found in all ethnic categories but mostly comprised of individuals with Spanish ethnicity.

In fact, the only ethnic category with a majority agreement to discrimination was Spanish, though a
significant 34% of all participants that identified themselves as Spanish did not believe there to be discrimination. Looking at the schooling experience of survey participants who identified themselves as Spanish, we find that most of them 70% went to public schools, 26% went to Catholic schools and only 4% went to ikastolas. Consistently, those individuals with a Spanish identity who did attend ikastolas did not believe there was any discrimination. This assessment may reflect a mechanism for wanting to fit in by immersion and by not reaffirming any difference or it may reflect the strong support and encouragement given to this small Spanish minority that is actively seeking to belong. The percentage of Spanish students who find there is discrimination against Spanish speakers in education makes up nearly half of all positive answers though they make up only
14% of all survey participants.

The only other socialvariables where a majority of participants coincided with discrimination were found in the section of ideal political future. Individuals who agreed that Spanish speakers were discriminated against in education selected the ideal state of government to be
anything but increased sovereignty to the region or left the question blank.

In interviews, discrimination against Spanish speakers was usually overlooked as a
non-issue, except when discussed among Euskaldunak concerned with the eventual normalization of Basque and policy design. Maite, who is employed by one of the municipal governments in Oarsoaldea, is sensitive to the discrimination that might result from ill-conceived policies. In her mind, when asked about bilingual education her first reaction is to criticize the petty politics involved in its design and implementation. According to Maite, the misguided desire to please everybody led to the creation of 3 models rather than 2. In her estimation, the Spanish dominant model delays normalization and creates a marginalized class that is ill suited for work in the
Basque Country. In wanting to “protect” or “respect” Spanish only speakers, not only are they missing out on an opportunity to develop bilingual skills, they are doomed find themselves unprepared for the increasingly common linguistic requirements in private, government and educational jobs.

todo eso siempre es como mucho jaleo político más que una política seria de política lingüística, yo creo, ahí sí que ha entrao eso de respetar a todo el mundo, que si hay alguien de escuelas solo en castellano, no sé, no tiene sentido mantener una escuela única y exclusivamente en castellano … para mí no tiene ningún sentido porque es que esos niños van a estar ya marginaos a sí mismos. O sea, en el momento que se van a estudiar a otro
instituto van a tener más problemas y en el momento que vayan a buscar un trabajo ni te cuento. Y además que es mantener como un hermetismo contra el euskera. no. (from interview with Maite)

In summary, the survey shows that discrimination is felt most clearly by second generation Spanish immigrants. Aggravating their feeling of transgression the majority of the people surveyed are blind to the discrimination. Those who do see the discrimination point out that discrimination is institutionalized in a misguided attempt to provide diversity rather than prepare all citizens to compete on a level playing field.