State school and enrolling your children

How the Italian school system works

Stage	Age	Length	Compulsory
Nursery (nido)	0–3	—	No, and places are scarce
Scuola dell'infanzia	3–6	3 years	No
Scuola primaria	6–11	5 years	Yes
Lower secondary	11–14	3 years	Yes
Upper secondary	14–19	5 years	Yes until 16

Compulsory schooling runs from 6 to 16. Until 18 there remains a right and duty to education and training, which can also be met through regional vocational training.

Upper secondary splits into three families: the licei (classical, scientific, linguistic, artistic, human sciences, music), the technical institutes and the vocational institutes. The choice is made at thirteen and it carries weight: switching later is possible but requires bridging exams.

Enrolling a child

The ordinary calendar

Enrolment for the following year opens for a few weeks in January and is done online on the national Unica platform, with SPID, CIE, CNS or an eIDAS identity from another EU country. For the 2026/2027 school year the window ran from 13 January to 14 February 2026: exact dates change every year and are announced in a ministerial note.

It covers primary and both secondary levels. For scuola dell'infanzia, enrolment stays on paper and is made directly at the school.

You name one school and usually two alternatives. If applications exceed places, the school applies the priority criteria set by its own board: proximity of home, siblings already enrolled, parents working in the area.

Arriving mid-year

This is exactly the situation of a family relocating, and the law addresses it explicitly: foreign minors may enrol at any point in the year, directly at the school, even without residency, tax code or complete documents. Enrolment can be made subject to reservation and is completed when the papers arrive.

Which class they join

The rule is the class matching their age. The school may decide otherwise — a year up or down — based on the schooling already completed, the system in the country of origin and assessed competences.

For the first months many schools run Italian as a second language workshops, dedicated hours with a specialist teacher, and adopt a personalised plan. Ask for it explicitly: where it is not automatic, it is the family's request that triggers it.

Documents

• Identity document for parent and child.
• The child's tax code (can be sorted out afterwards).
• Records from the previous school: reports, attendance certificate, syllabus covered. For compulsory schooling a sworn translation is not required; a plain translation is usually accepted.
• Vaccination certificate or record book.

Vaccinations

In Italy certain childhood vaccinations are compulsory by law up to age 16. The consequences change with age:

• for nursery and scuola dell'infanzia (0–6) being up to date is a condition of admission;
• from age 6 upwards the child is not excluded from lessons, but the school reports the situation to the ASL, which starts a catch-up process and can fine the parents.

Vaccinations given abroad count, whatever country you come from: bring the vaccination record to the ASL, which maps it onto the Italian schedule and completes what is missing.

What "free" school costs

State education has no tuition fees. Some real items remain.

Item	Who asks for it	Notes
Voluntary contribution	The school	Voluntary for the part covering extra activities. Insurance and specific materials may legitimately be charged
Textbooks	Families	Free at primary level through the municipality's book vouchers; paid afterwards, with regional contributions based on ISEE
School meals	The municipality	Rates by ISEE band, often with exemptions
School transport	The municipality	Same
Trips and outings	The school	Optional, but they add up
State school fees	The State	Only the final two years of upper secondary, small amounts, with income and merit exemptions

The right to education

This is the bundle of supports that makes school genuinely accessible, and it is a regional and municipal competence, not a national one. It varies considerably from region to region:

• grants and study allowances, on application and based on ISEE;
• book vouchers or textbook lending schemes;
• meals and transport reduced or free below certain thresholds;
• support for pupils with disabilities (support teacher, autonomy assistant) and for pupils with specific learning differences or special educational needs, with a personalised teaching plan.

Applications have hard deadlines, usually between spring and the start of the school year, and almost all require the ISEE: get it done early, free of charge, at a patronato or CAF.

Things that surprise people arriving from abroad

• Catholic religion class is optional. At enrolment you choose whether to take it: those who opt out do alternative activities or start later. The choice is free and can change every year.
• The school communicates almost everything through the electronic register: grades, absences, homework, notices. Credentials are collected at the office and must be used, because paper has all but disappeared.
• Marks are out of ten at secondary level (6 is a pass), while primary assessment is expressed in descriptive judgements. Assessment rules have changed recently: ask the school which system applies this year.
• Saturday can be a school day, depending on how the institute organises the week.
• Parents participate through class representatives and the school council, and that is the right channel for raising a problem.

Common mistakes

• Waiting for residency before enrolling the child. Not needed: enrol straight away.
• Missing the January window for the following year, and being assigned a school far away.
• Not asking for the Italian L2 workshop. It often exists but must be requested.
• Doing the ISEE in September. Applications for meals, transport and books close before then.
• Not checking the electronic register. Important messages travel only that way.