Educational Decrees

During the course of her "reign of terror" at Hogwarts, Dolores Umbridge passed a series of obnoxious Educational Decrees. As you will notice, most of the Decrees are directly related to Harry Potter and/or Albus Dumbledore. This page lists all of the known Educational Decree, plus an explanation of what they mean and how they are used.

 Educational Decree #22

In the event of the current headmaster being unable to provide a candidate for a teaching post, The Ministry should select an appropriate person.

Cornelius Fudge uses this opportunity to appoint Dolores Jane Umbridge as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts when Albus Dumbledore is not able to find another person to do the job.

 Educational Decree #23

Creates new position of Hogwarts High Inquisitor.

Dolores Jane Umbridge was appointed High Inquisitor in order to give the ministry more authority at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry. She is given the power to inspect her fellow teachers and fire any that she believes are not up to scratch.

 Educational Decree #24

All students Organizations, societies, Teams, groups, and clubs are henceforth disbanded. An Organization, Society, Team, Group, and Club is hereby defined as a regular meeting of three or more students. Permission to re-form may be sought from the High Inquisitor (Professor Umbridge). No Student Organization, Society, Team, Group, and Club may exist without knowledge and approval of the High Inquisitor. Any Student to have formed, or to belong to, an Organization, Society, Team, Group, and Club that has not been approved by the High Inquisitor will be expelled.

Professor Umbridge posts this Educational Decree when she finds out about a secret Defense Against the Dark Arts group being formed by Harry Potter and his friends. Willy Widdershins notified Umbridge of this group after he witnessed a meeting in the Hog's Head pub. Obviously, Harry and the rest of the group had no intention of asking Umbridge to reform, and carried on with their meetings illegally. Some were surprised that this Decree included Quidditch, and naturally Umbridge was delighted at holding the Gryffindor Quidditch team's future in her hands. Eventually Dumbledore, who still had higher authority at this point, forced her to let them re-form.

 Educational Decree #25

The High Inquisitor will henceforth have supreme authority over all punishments, sanctions, and removal of privileges pertaining to the students of Hogwarts, and the power to alter such punishments, sanctions, and removals of privileges as may have been ordered by other staff members.

Professor Umbridge used this Decree to give Harry Potter, Fred Weasley, and George Weasley a lifetime Quidditch ban after attacking Malfoy on the Quidditch pitch. Professor McGonagall had only been intending to give them each a week's detention, but Professor Umbridge now has higher authority than any staff member, and even Dumbledore himself. This ban is even more unfair when you consider that Fred Weasley never even attacked Malfoy, but was banned because his twin did.

 Educational Decree #26

Teachers are hereby banned from giving students information that is not strictly related to the subject they are paid to teach.

Somehow, Umbridge must have found out about Professor Snape giving Harry Potter Occlumency lessons, since this seems to directly target them. This also prohibits any Professors who are in the Order of the Phoenix from giving students like Harry Potter, Hermione, or the Weasleys, any information about what's going on with Lord Voldemort.

 Educational Decree #27

Any student found in possession of the magazine The Quibbler will be expelled.

This Decree was placed in order to stop students from reading Harry's interview in The Quibbler about the night Voldemort returned. Umbridge also retaliated against Harry by banning him from Hogsmeade and giving him more detentions. Unfortunately for Umbridge, banning the magazine made it even more popular among students. They found all sorts of ways to disguise the magazine in case Umbridge ordered them to turn out their pockets.

 Educational Decree #28

Dolores Jane Umbridge (High Inquisitor) has replaced Albus Dumbledore as Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

After Dumbledore's escape from right under the Cornelius Fudge's nose, Umbridge became the Headmistress. This is especially unfair as Minerva McGonagall is Deputy Headmistress, and should have taken over for Dumbledore when he escaped.