The Ministry of Education abruptly planned to drastically reduce the backing of schools supporting home education. The fresh task assumes that the school will receive a full grant (0.8) only up to 96 students in home education – alternatively of 200 to date. Each next student means little support and greater hazard of reducing real support for children and parents.
The Foundation for Home Education expresses strong opposition to the changes in the draft regulation of the Minister of Education concerning the allocation of educational resources for 2026. The fresh regulations, according to the Foundation, endanger equal access to education and may seriously restrict the improvement of home education in Poland.
Government Tusk trying to save on children
The biggest controversy is due to the proposed change in the school's number threshold, which qualifies the school for higher grants (at 80% of subsidies). According to the fresh project, this threshold is to be lowered from 200 to 96 students.
In practice, this means that schools supporting a larger number of children learning outside the schoolroom and schoolroom strategy will be financed according to little favourable indicators, which may importantly reduce their ability to act.
– Changing the subsidy threshold will not only weaken the functioning of the schools active in home education, but can lead to their closure. For thousands of families it is the only real support in the regular teaching of children – warns the Foundation for Home Education.
Impact on the constitutional right to education
The Foundation stresses that the planned changes violate the constitutional rule of equal access to education.
Article 70 of the Constitution of the Republic of Poland guarantees that all students have the right to free learning, regardless of the form in which they carry out the school obligation. In the meantime, the proposed government can lead to a situation where home-educated students have limited access to resources and support available in conventional schools.
The Fed besides recalls that under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the State is required to defend children from all forms of discrimination – besides indirect, resulting from administrative or budgetary decisions.
Where's the data? Where's the dialogue?
The deficiency of transparency of the legislative process is besides a major concern. As the Foundation points out, the task does not contain a justification or cost analysis for the proposed threshold of 96 students. There is no information on the basis of which this change was made, what data was taken into account and how this affects the real needs of students and schools.
– We are afraid about the deficiency of dialog with practices – schools, teachers and parents – which support children in home education on a regular basis. specified major changes should be based on data, not arbitrary decisions," the Foundation points out.
Home education is not a privilege – it is simply a right
