What is new in the school year 2025/26 – the catch -up has started
Minister of Education Christoph Return presented the innovations for the coming school year a little more than a week before school start:
1.) Main tender teachers
At this year’s main tender for the school year 2025/26, it came to 6.555 Job advertisements with which 95.273 Hours were advertised. The equivalent of the advertised hours corresponds round 4.331 Fully employed teachers.
Stand today there is about 16,000 applicantsunderneath 2,000 transept (This corresponds to an increase in applications of transverse -proof by 30% for the previous year).
The job plan for general compulsory schools looks like this:
In accordance with the preliminary number of pupils, a total of 67,876.4 will result in positions for state teachers to be approved for the school year 2025/26. This corresponds to a plus on positions compared to the job plan for the school year 2024/25 of a little more than 1,200 positions for State teachers. This includes the following measures/developments:
-
around 747 additional positions for German funding
-
around 190 additional positions for the pedagogical-administrative specialists
-
Increase in the number of students
With regard to the job plan in the federal government, the Personnel Plan 2025 for federal teachers (AHS, BMHS) are additional 695 positions planned.
2.) Pedagogical and administrative specialists start at compulsory schools
Pedagogical and administrative specialists at compulsory schools are introduced to relieve and support school management. These are teachers who take on organizational tasks from the school management. In the first step of expansion (school year 2025/26) this are 190 additional positionsin the final expansion 2027/28 there will be three times as many.
3.) Doubling the positions in German funding
The catch -up in German funding has started: the funds for German funding are more than doubled on 1300 positions. A new logic of the communication is more oriented towards the needs of the students and offers more planning security for school management. We invest an annually EUR 62 million and a total of EUR 108 million in the successful acquisition of the German language.
4.) Strengthening financial and economic education
From the school year 2025/26, the business acquittal Realgymnasium (WIKU) will be repositioned. The initiative is carried together by all wikus and is characterized by a modern, innovative school form. Special characteristics are the new subject of “economy, innovation and sustainability” in the lower and upper level. This is introduced as a school autonomous each and contributes to the financial education of the students. This not only enables graduates to reflect on purchase, credit or investment decisions, they also get to know new business and financial models. This repositioning of the wiku is the next logical step after the already binding anchoring of economic and financial education in primary level as well as secondary level I. With the revision of the curricula in the vocational area, there is a next milestone to strengthen financial and economic education in our schools.
5.) Contemporary lessons for pupils with special needs
From the school year 2025/26, the new, modernized curricula for special education will be gradually introduced. They focus more on the skills and the individual support requirements of the students.
6.) Start of the expansion of the psychosocial support staff – doubling the school psychology and school social work at federal schools
The positions for school psychology will be doubled to 390 by 2027, in the school year 2025/26 there are 70 positions, 2026/27 there are another 70. For the first time, positions for school social work are also available in the federal schools. In the school year 25/26 there are 30 positions, 26/27 follow another 35 positions.
7.) General mobile phone ban at compulsory schools and child protection on tablets and laptops
The cell phone is a large concentration killer, children and adolescents should concentrate on the acquisition of education again. At the same time, clear rules are required that and how the cell phone can be used in the course of the lesson. Since May, a ban on mobile phone uses has applied up to the 8th school level, from which schools can autonomously deviate where it makes educational sense. In autumn, age protection on the tablets and laptops of the device initiative will also be improved and media education continued and deepened as part of the field of digital basic education.
8.) Pilot for transition to elementary school starts in Vienna
A pilot project in Vienna starts with Teach for Austria in autumn. Building on this, the general transition in the elementary school is implemented with specific requirements.
9.) Depereaucratization is promoted: 80% of all decrees are 1.9. overridden
As part of the Freiraum School department initiative, the number of existing circular is reduced by 80%. This is a contribution to more clarity in the school system for school management and teachers. We limit the regulations to what is absolutely necessary and give schools more freedom of action.
10.) Bundle of measures Digitization & AI
For pupils from secondary level I, exciting self -learning courses on the subject of AI are available in the Eduthek from 2026. The so -called MOOCs tailored to the different age groups enable immersion in the world of artificial intelligence (AI).
AI advanced training for teachers
In the school year 2025/26, the universities of pedagogical universities offer further training opportunities related to artificial intelligence (AI) in order to sensitize and qualify teachers in educational contexts to the challenges and opportunities of AI.
Die Video-Streamingplattform www.edutube.ata cooperation between BMB and ORF, has been offering over 2,000 curriculum -concept videos and documentaries for the school area since 2020, supplemented by accompanying materials and barrier -free accessibility.
11.) Support in the purchase of school materials
For many parents it is a financial challenge before the new school year
To get school materials, but there is concrete support:
The School start The family load compensation fund was already in August
paid as an increased family allowance: this is 121.4 euros per
school -age child.
School start! – vouchers For school articles from funds of the
Ministry of Social Affairs, co -financed by the European Union: to students and
Pupils in minimum security and social welfare households are given by the Volkshilfe
and your partner organizations distributed vouchers that are in all libro and pagro
Branches can be redeemed.
Also the Federal states Provide support in the form of school article packages or grants.
12.) Introduction of orientation classes
Immigration of children who have no experience with school life will initially be prepared for school life in orientation classes from autumn. How many students get into the orientation classes will be determined after the start of the school year. The curricula for the orientation classes will come into force from autumn 2025. The schools are therefore legally and in terms of content and can support pupils who do not have any school experience.
In addition Minister of Education Christoph Return: “The proclaimed catch -up in the education area was started with a number of offers and measures. My goal is that pupils also like to go to school and we further strengthen the educational institutions in our country. I am particularly pleased that over 16,000 people who want to work again and thus make an enormously important contribution to the entire society. However, it is visible that the Federal Government’s measures have an impact on the attractiveness of the profession and that more young people want to work as a teacher or teacher! ”