School, 7 million students return to their desks. Bolzano starts on 8 September, last Puglia and Calabria on 16

The start of the new school year is approaching for the almost seven million pupils - from kindergarten to high school - and one million teachers.

The first lessons will take place in the autonomous province of Bolzano on Monday, 8 September; two days later it will be the turn of the autonomous province of Trento, Piedmont, Veneto and Valle d'Aosta; on 11 September for students and teachers in Friuli Venezia-Giulia; on 12 September for those in Lombardy. Most regional councils have instead decided that school will start on Monday 15 September: Abruzzo, Basilicata, Campania, Emilia Romagna, Lazio, Liguria, Marche, Molise, Sardinia, Sicily, Tuscany and Umbria have set this date. The last to return to class, on 16 September, will be pupils and teachers in Puglia and Calabria.

There is a lot of news. As of this school year, mobile phones will be banned during lessons in all schools of all levels: in June, the Ministry of Education and Merit issued a circular ordering that, as of September, high-school students - in the first cycle, mobile phones had already been banned - will also be banned from using their mobile phones during teaching activities and, more generally, during school hours.

The new provisions on the conduct grade come into force from September: from now on those who receive a 5 in conduct will have to repeat the year, while those who receive a 6 in high school will be 'sent back to September' and will have to pass a test on citizenship values to be promoted. The conduct grade goes back to the averages (expressed in tenths) and will be averaged. In general, the conduct grade will have to refer to the entire school year and no longer to the four-month period. For students in the final year of secondary school, the critical essay on active citizenship and solidarity will have to be covered in the State examination interview. The behaviour mark will also affect credits for admission to the Maturity exam: the highest mark within the school credit band can only be given if the behaviour mark awarded is nine.

The suspension also changes: if suspended for up to two days, the student will be involved in in-depth activities on topics related to the behaviour that caused the measure. If the suspension exceeds two days, the student will have to carry out solidarity citizenship activities at affiliated facilities. In the 2024-2025 school year, on the other hand, the new lines on Civic Education and Relationship Education and an increase in sanctions and penalties - including arrest in flagrante delicto - for those who assault school staff came into force.