The new school year began today in Bolzano and will gradually start across the rest of Italy until Tuesday, September 16, bringing about 7 million students back to the classroom—120,000 fewer than last year due to the demographic decline.
Among the main changes this year are a nationwide ban on mobile phones in class, now extended to high schools, and stricter rules on disciplinary suspensions. For foreign students, the number of Italian language teachers has been increased to support inclusion.
For families, communication with schools will increasingly take place online. In primary schools, written assessments using short descriptors (excellent, very good, good, fair, sufficient, insufficient) will replace grades.
Another major development concerns the country’s economic future: the launch of a new technical education track, the so-called “4+2 model.” It consists of four years of high school followed by two years at an ITS Academy, the advanced technical institutes that Italy urgently needs to remain competitive with other European economies.