The most extensive amendment to the School Act, which will affect most children and parents, has also passed the Senate. For example, the school-leaving exam will change, more psychologists will be hired, and distance learning will be possible in secondary schools.
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Major changes are coming that will affect the functioning of all schools in the country. Some of them will have to merge, but on the other hand, schools will finally receive permanent funding for essential positions - school psychologists or special educators.
However, the loudest debate in recent months has been about the funding of janitors, cooks or IT administrators, i.e. non-teaching workers . Senators finally confirmed their transfer to municipalities and regions in the form that passed the Chamber of Deputies.
The Senate only approved an accompanying resolution calling on the government to prepare a mechanism for 2026 to mitigate the objective negative financial impacts on municipalities establishing schools as a result of this change.
Other points of the major amendment concern changes in school-leaving exams or distance learning. Review all approved changes.
School mergers
Small schools will merge. Nothing will change in municipalities where there is only one school. Where there are more, only one with more than 180 pupils will be allowed to exist. According to the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, about a third of schools should be below this limit. Mergers will most often be of two types: combining separately operating primary and kindergarten schools under one entity, or a larger number of kindergartens into one unit in cities where they still operate separately.
Psychologists and special educators
Schools have always had to fight for these positions. Their funding was haphazard, for example from various grants. Schools could hardly guarantee the security of a place for experts. But that is changing, every school with over 180 pupils should be entitled to such an expert at least part-time. Schools with 400 or more pupils will probably get a full-time position. However, this will only be specified by the relevant government regulation.
Principals will be allowed to use the money for one more type of professional position: a social educator, who can help children from uninspiring family backgrounds.