How education is organized in Spain: stages, rights and duties

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. Basic education is compulsory and free, lasts ten school years and runs from age six to sixteen. Students may stay in the ordinary system until age eighteen.
2. The education system is organized into stages: early childhood, primary, compulsory secondary, bachillerato (upper secondary), vocational training, language, arts, sports, adult education and university. Primary and compulsory secondary make up basic education.
3. The second cycle of early childhood education (ages three to six) will be free, and the authorities must guarantee enough places in public or state-funded private schools.
4. Diagnostic assessments of basic competencies are created at the end of the second cycle of primary and at the end of the second year of compulsory secondary school. They are formative and guidance-oriented, not for ranking.
5. To enter university, students need the Bachiller certificate and must pass a single standardized entrance exam. The Bachiller certificate requires passing all subjects in the two-year program.
6. Students who need specific educational support (disability, high abilities, late incorporation, learning difficulties) are entitled to the necessary resources and support, with schooling based on inclusion.
7. In school admissions, when there are not enough places, priority goes to students with siblings already enrolled, proximity of home, family income and disability. Schools may not charge for free education or impose payments on families.
8. Schools have pedagogical and management autonomy, with a public educational project, and the school community participates through the School Council and the Teachers' Assembly.

Who it affects

• Families with school-age children: They can choose a school, participate in it, and basic education and the second cycle of early childhood education are free.
• Students: They must attend basic education from six to sixteen, and can then move on to bachillerato, vocational training or other studies.
• Teachers: Their qualifications, duties, training and recognition are set, as well as the conditions to become a school principal.
• Public and state-funded private schools: They must guarantee free education, fair admissions and a balanced enrollment of students with greater needs.
• Adults: They can complete their studies through adapted programs, exams to earn official certificates and distance education.

Words worth knowing

Concierto educativo (state-funded private school agreement)

An agreement under which a private school receives public money in exchange for providing free education.

Currículo (curriculum)

The set of goals, contents, methods and evaluation criteria for each type of education.

Enseñanzas mínimas (minimum education standards)

The basic parts of the curriculum set by the national government that must be followed throughout Spain.

Evaluación de diagnóstico (diagnostic assessment)

A test measuring students' basic competencies to improve teaching, not to rank schools.

Ley Orgánica (organic law)

A special type of Spanish law, reserved for major matters such as education, requiring enhanced majorities in Congress.

It summarizes the law as published in the BOE. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries