On Monday, 14 September 2026, pupils in seven Italian regions return to the classroom. Further regions follow on Tuesday, 15 September, and by Thursday all state schools from primary level through to secondary education will have reopened. The 2026/27 school year brings a number of changes, ranging from new curricula with Latin as an optional subject and a continued ban on mobile phones to a reform of technical institutes.
When the school term begins in each region
Italy has no single, uniform first day of term. Each region and autonomous province sets its own calendar , resulting in a staggered start to the school year spread over just over ten days. This year, the Autonomous Province of Bolzano was first off the mark, on 7 September; on 10 September, Trentino, Veneto and the Aosta Valley followed. These early dates are linked to the regional autonomies of the northern regions.
The classic main start falls on Monday, 14 September, when schools reopen in Piedmont, Liguria, Lombardy, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, the Marche, Molise and Umbria. On Tuesday, 15 September, Lazio, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Campania, Calabria and Sicily follow suit. On 16 September, Abruzzo, Basilicata and Sardinia join them, and Puglia rounds things off on 17 September. In total, around seven million pupils will begin state schooling across these dates.
New curricula featuring Latin and a greater role for the Bible
Among the central changes for 2026/27 are the Nuove Indicazioni Nazionali, the new national curricula for the first cycle. They take effect from the start of the 2026/27 school year in nurseries, primary schools and in the Scuola secondaria di primo grado, the Italian equivalent of middle school. The Italian Ministry of Education , under Minister Giuseppe Valditara, developed the new curricula in consultation with professional associations, parent and pupil organisations, and trade unions. A corresponding reform package for upper secondary education is expected to follow in the 2027/28 school year.
Among the most notable changes is the return of Latin to the Scuola secondaria di primo grado as an optional subject, with one additional hour per week. Valditara argues that Latin trains logical thinking and an understanding of Italian grammar, and offers a key gateway to the cultural history of the Western world. In literature programmes, the Bible now takes its place alongside the Iliad and the Odyssey. History lessons place greater emphasis on the history of the West. In the licei, the first biennium will also see Geostoria , previously taught as a combined subject, split back into the separate disciplines of history and geography.
The mobile phone ban remains, and conduct grades become stricter
The mobile phone ban introduced in previous years remains in force at all Italian schools in 2026/27 as well. Smartphones and other internet-enabled devices may not be used during the entire school day, including breaks, as the Italian specialist portal La Legge per Tutti summarises in its overview of the 2026/27 school year. Exceptions are provided only for educational purposes and for pupils with special needs. Individual schools decide how to implement the ban in practice, for instance regarding storage of devices during the school day.
Considerably stricter rules have also been introduced for the conduct grade, known in Italian as the Voto in condotta. Following the reform, an unsatisfactory conduct grade at secondary level can result in a pupil having to repeat the year. Those in licei, technical institutes and vocational institutes who receive a six for conduct, the lowest passing mark in the Italian grading system , must additionally sit an examination in civic education. The measure has been met with both approval and criticism.
Reform of technical institutes and the '4+2' pathway model
From this school year, the reform of the Istituti Tecnicialso comes into effect, as set out in Ministerial Decree DM 29/2026. It initially applies to first-year cohorts and will be extended to higher year groups in stages over the coming years. The aim is to align curricula more closely with the actual demands of the economy, with digital and ecological transformation, and with emerging professional fields. According to the specialist portal Orizzonte Scuola , the curriculum will in future be structured around three components: a general education foundation, a technical and specialist core area, and an elective area for specialisations.
Alongside this, following the pilot phase, the Filiera formativa tecnologico-professionale 4+2 also becomes an official part of the national education system. The model offers a four-year secondary qualification, which can be followed by a two-year advanced course at an ITS Academy . Around 280 technical and vocational institutes took part in the pilot phase. The new Filiera is intended to be particularly appealing to families whose children are seeking a faster route from school leaving to entering the workforce.
Artificial intelligence, psychological support and higher salaries
A further development is the stronger role of artificial intelligence in the classroom. The government has allocated around 100 million euros for the introduction of AI tools and the continuing professional development of teaching staff. Working with AI will also become part of Educazione civica, with a particular focus on data protection, algorithms and the responsible use of new technologies in everyday life.
Also new is the programme AscoltaMI, which offers psychological support for pupils in the final year of the Scuola secondaria di primo grado and the first two years of upper secondary school. Through the UNICA platform, families can apply for a voucher covering five individual video consultations; the programme has a budget of 18.5 million euros. On the staffing side, salaries have risen under the new 2025-2027 collective agreement: teachers receive 143 euros more per month, whilst ATA staff (assistants and administrative personnel, known in Italian as Personale ATA) receive 107 euros more, in each case plus back payments. Families who depend on specialist Sostegno teaching may also apply for their child to continue being supported by the same Sostegno teacher in the new school year.
