When regional autonomy is managed by the left, it must be repressed. On January 14, 2026, the government adopted a measure suspending regional autonomy regarding the sizing of school buildings in regions managed by the center-left, specifically Emilia-Romagna, Tuscany, Umbria, and Sardinia, under the dictate: "If you don't cut, I'll punish you. Or rather, I'll put you under special administration." This undermines public schools and tramples on the role of local autonomy. This sizing-for which demographic decline and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) are exploited-has already led to the merger of numerous schools.
This trend developed starting with the 2023 budget law, which defined new rules for the sizing of school networks, establishing the minimum parameters for a school to continue to exist under school autonomy. Starting in the 2024-25 school year, these new parameters, which would have allowed the elimination of numerous positions for managers, teachers, and ATA staff, were to be defined in a decree developed by the Ministries of Education and Merit and Economy and Finance, in agreement with the Unified Conference of the Regions. If no agreement was reached-as was the case-the two ministries would proceed independently.The minimum parameter was raised from 600 to 900-1,000 students per school, sparking union protests as well as opposition from some Regions, who complained of an undue intrusion into their autonomy.
All this resulted in widespread protests that led, with the "thousand extensions" decree, to a 2.5% exemption, but only for 2024-25. Faced with the persistent refusal of many regions to accept this downsizing, the government, seeking economies of scale to offset the reduction in funding for public schools, has appointed Commissioners ad Acta for the aforementioned regions, tasked with implementing the requested policy.
All this while the 2026 Budget Law strengthens support for private schools, with allocations exceeding EUR700 million annually, including a new "school voucher" of up to EUR1,500 for families with an ISEE (Equivalent Economic Situation Indicator) of less than EUR30,000. The budget also provides for an overall increase for the sector, bringing funding to approximately EUR886 million in 2026.
Leaving aside the very serious infringement on regional autonomy, as well as the violation of Article 33 of the Constitution, which prohibits funding for private schools, this demonstrates that this policy is convenient, and the government, which so trumpets the principle of autonomy, easily bypasses it. It's hardly worth noting that this decision undermines the right to education because it distances students from school (the dropout rate has risen to 14.5%), desertifying some areas and forcing students living in those furthest from the new complex to pay higher costs and often to abandon their studies. It must be said that from a sociological perspective, it creates clusters, large school communities (2,000 people) that effectively hinder student socialization and the cohesion of school complexes, the only true antidote to educational and community-based education for young people, thus avoiding incidents like the one in La Spezia. This allows and encourages the emergence of conflict within classrooms, certainly fueled by very large structures in which interpersonal relationships become rarefied and depersonalized, increasing conflict. Repressive laws cannot prevent violence and pursue the constructive and social education of minors. These rules, of course, do not apply to the government's failed experiments in education, such as the establishment of the Made in Italy high school, which again this year lacked the minimum enrollment and diverted many resources from better use.
The Editorial Staff
https://www.ucadi.org/2026/01/31/lautonomia-a-corrente-alternata/
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Link: (en) Italy, UCADI, #204 - Autonomy in Fluctuating Current (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]
Source: A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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