Legal system - Luxembourg

Legal System

Early Childhood Education 


The Ministry of Education has created in May 1998 a new class for children of the age of three, in order to facilitate the process of socialisation and integration (especially of migrants)
This early childhood education lasts one year and is not compulsory.

Compulsary School 

The duration of compulsory school attendance has been extended from 11 years to 12 years. 

Pre-School and Primary Education 

The new law organizing fundamental education, the law concerning the fundamental education staff and the law on compulsory school attendance have been voted in Parliament on 21 January 2009. 

Together, the three laws reorganize the 12 first years of schooling on the educational and organisational level, in order to guarantee a better success of all pupils. They will come into force in september 2009. 

The main lines of the year 2009-2010 are the following: 

• From september 2009 on, all the pre-school and primary schools, from now on called fundamental schools, are organized in four learning cycles. The learning cycles will replace the traditional organization in school years. The first cycle is composed of early schooling and pre-school education (optional). The 2nd, 3rd and 4th cycles are in primary education and each last 2 years. 
• The teachers of each cycle will concentrate and collaborate within educational teams.
• All fundamental schools will be encouraged to work on the basis of competence schedules elaborated for the four learning cycles. The competence basises however will be obligatory only after the validation phase currently going on in five pilot schools, called schools in movement.  

New evaluation forms will be introduced from 2009-2010 on for cycles 1 and 2. An end of cycle outcome will inform, every two years, about the stage of development of the competences aimed at in the competence basis. Like last year, an intermediary outcome will be established at the end of each term. It will be an adapted model of the actual school report. For cycles 3 and 4, the traditional school report is maintained. However, the pupils will also receive an end of cycle outcome. 

Post-Primary Education 

At the end of the 6th year of primary school, the pupils are being oriented, in the framework of the passage from primary education to post-primary education, to one of the two orders of post-primary education.

The pupils attend the lower division of secondary or technical secondary education (until 16 years) in order to suffice for their compulsory education. 

Secondary education is a genreral education : its objective is to transmit general knowledge in the fields of human sciences and literature, mathematics and natural sciences. The studies prepare to superior and university education and rewarded by a secondary school-leaving certificate. 

Technical secondary education essentially prepares to working life. It also allows to accede to superior education. Technical secondary education includes three different systems: 

• Technical system, rewarded by a technical school-leaving certificate, 
• Technician training system, leading to the technician diploma, 
• Professional system, rewarded by the vocational capacity diploma (CCP) or the vocational aptitude diploma (DAP). 

Transition Period 

COIP classes 

The pupils which at the end of compulsory school attendance are too weak to prepare the CCP will have the possibility to follow the orientation and vocational initiation classes (COIP) created by the 16 march 2007 law. 

Action Locale pour jeunes (ALJ)


“Action locale pour jeunes” (“Local assistance for young people”) is part of the vocational training of the Ministry of Education. Its tasks are:

- To organise special measures in order to facilitate transition from school to work life (even before compulsory education is finished)

- To organise social and pedagogical help for young people in difficulties (when they are already working or when they follow vocational training) 

« Ecole de la deuxième chance »

The new school will open in september 2010 and will be integrated to the public school system. It is destined to pupils from 16 to 24 who, for school failure or wrong orientation choice reasons, have dropped out from school or who do not find an apprenticeship. It will be established at the centre of the country and will receive up to 350 young people. 

« Ecole de la 2e chance » has a double objective. It aims to

• bring the young people who dropped out to regain motivation in order to take up their education, 
• develop the general, practical and social abilities which allow them to re(integrate) the traditional classes of secondary and technical secondary education, apprenticeship or the labour market. 

Children with Special Needs


School law of 1912

Despite the institution of school obligation for all children, the law of August 10th, 1912, concerning the organisation of primary education excluded children “suffering from physical disabilities, except those, suffering from visual or hearing impairment.” Children suffering from mental disabilities were not admissible to school.

Law of Special Education of 1973 

Changes occurred by the law of March 14th, 1973 by the creation of centres and services of Special Education. “The Government makes sure, that every child, because of his mental, sensorial and emotional particularities, gets the instruction required by his state or situation in structures of Special Education.”

According to children’s needs, the following centres were created:

a.) Pre-primary and primary centres and centres of professional training

b.) Children homes, boarding schools and reception houses

c.) Observation classes and centres

d.) Ambulatory resource centres


e.) Ambulatory education services


f.) Multidisciplinary medico-psycho-pedagogical services

This law allowed children with special needs to attend a special school, but not a mainstream school.

Law of school integration

Finally the law of June 28th, 1994 changed and completed:


a.) the law of August 10th, 1912 concerning the organisation of primary education

b.) the law of March 14th, 1973 creating institutions and services of Special Education  
in favour of the participation of children with special needs in mainstream schools and of their social integration.

After advice by the “Commission Medico-Psycho-Pédagogique Nationale” and consultation of the child’s parents, the minister can exclude from school attendance a pupil because of severe reasons.

“The Government makes sure that every child of school obligation age, who cannot follow ordinary or special education because of his mental, emotional, sensorial and motor particularities and who has special needs, gets:
- appropriate instruction in a centre or institution of Special Education or
- individual help and support by a service of Special Education in the mainstream pre-primary 
   or primary schools.”

Support and assistance measures in case of learning difficulties 

At the level of each inspection district, at least one multiprofessional team is created, whose mission is to ensure, in collaboration with the class teacher, and if necessary, with the “médico-socioscolaire” team, the diagnosis and the taking into charge of pupils having special education needs and to advise the class teacher and the educational team in the implementation of differentiation measures. 

These multiprofessional teams include staff from Special education and from Logopedics centre, Special education teachers appointed to a commune of the district, and other experts in the support and assistance to offer to pupils concerned. 

The composition and coordination of the work of the multiprofessional teams are established, in dialogue, by the head teacher of Special education, the head teacher of Logopedics centre and the Inspector-General. 

In dialogue with the concerned school committees, the teams ensure a regular presence in the schools. 

They work under the responsibility of the concerned district inspector in the framework of the allowed means and the actions planned by the “commission d’inclusion solaire”, hereafter called « CIS ». 

The district inspector is in charge with the educational structure of his district team. After dialogue with the members of the team, he fixes the operating principles, the priority order of the planned actions and the evaluation procedures of the interventions. 

In each district is created at least one “Commission d’inclusion scolaire” whose mission is to define, at request from the parents or at request from the teacher, and after the parents have agreed the taking into charge of the concerned pupils. 

The CIS establishes a file which includes:

1. a diagnosis of the pupil’s needs;

2. the supports which can be assigned;

3. an individualized taking into charge plan. 

This plan is submitted to the parents for agreement. The CIS annually evaluates the plan and integrates the necessary adaptations to ensure the education progress of the pupil. 

This plan can consist in:

1. adapting the education in class ensured by the class teacher in collaboration with the educational team;

2. in class assistance by one or more members of the multiprofessional team attached to the educational team for the intervention period;

3. temporary stay in another class in order to learn certain subjects;

4. education in a Special education class;

5. education in a special school or institution in Luxembourg or abroad. 

In the cases 4 and 5, the file is transmitted for aproval to the national “médico-psycho-pédagogique” commission. 

Pre-school and primary research school founded on inclusive education

The 13 May 2008 law created in Luxembourg City a pre-school and primary research school founded on inclusive education. The mission of this school is to develop and implement teachings and an educational framework according to the principle of inclusive education consisting in full participation of every pupil in every aspect of school life independently from their distinctive characteristics on sociocultural, physical, sensory, cognitive, socio-affective or psychomotor level. 

Source : www.men.lu