Grants for released teachers in the Irale program in 2026

The Department of Education has approved the 2026 call for grants and the bases for subsidized schools to cover the replacement costs of teachers who participate in Irale program courses within their working hours. The Order of August 27, 2026, signed by the Minister of Education Begoña Pedrosa Lobato, was published in the Official Gazette of the Basque Country (BOPV) on September 3, 2026, issue number 168, with reference 2026/3783.

The Order allocates a credit of 960,000 euros, charged to the 2026 General Budgets of the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country. The call is situated within the Department of Education’s 2026 Strategic Plan for Grants, specifically in program 4715 of the Institute for Basque and Language Learning, with the strategic objective of Basque language training for teachers.

Purpose of the call and beneficiaries

The purpose of the Order is to provide grants to private subsidized schools to cover the costs incurred by replacing staff who participate in Irale program courses within their working hours throughout 2026. The activity eligible for funding is the hiring of staff to replace the released teaching staff, provided that the replacement does not exceed the duration of the course.

The beneficiaries may be natural or legal persons who are the owners of schools with a subsidized education agreement, provided they meet the following conditions:

• Having a subsidized education agreement for the levels and subjects taught by the admitted teaching staff.
• The admitted teaching staff being released from their working hours.
• Having a full replacement hired, with the same professional category and teaching duties as the replaced teacher.

Eligible courses and amounts

The courses eligible for funding are U2, U3, 3000, 4000, 5000, R300, R400, R600, and R900, called by two orders: the Order of April 16, 2025 (for the 2025 summer and the 2025-2026 academic year) and the Order of April 23, 2026 (for the 2026 summer and the 2026-2027 academic year).

The amount of the subsidy is calculated based on a table according to the replacement period and the level provided. For example, for a six-month replacement (from January 7 to June 19), it is 24,409.92 euros for Primary Education, 25,929.59 euros for teachers in the first cycle of ESO, and 28,064.93 euros for graduates in ESO+Baccalaureate+LH. The amounts are the maximums based on a 100% reference, and if the replacement is partial, they will be calculated proportionally.

Processing and deadlines

Applications must be submitted within a period of one month, starting from the day following the publication of the call in the BOPV, electronically through the electronic headquarters of the Public Administration of the Basque Country. A single application will be made by the owner of each school, specifying both the teaching staff to be replaced and the person who will replace them.

The instruction for the procedure corresponds to the Institute for Basque and Language Learning, and the resolution to the Deputy Minister of Education Policies. The resolutions will be issued in two periods: those corresponding to releases from January to June, before October 30, 2026, and those from September to December, before December 31, 2026. The grants awarded will be published in the BOPV for transparency purposes.

This call is of great importance for contracted schools, as it allows the release of teaching staff for training in Basque, reducing the burden of substitution costs. In this way, it helps strengthen the linguistic competence of the Basque Education System, within the strategic objective of promoting teachers’ training in Basque.

Fuente: Official Gazette of the Basque Country, number 168, September 3, 2026, Other Provisions section, pp. 1-15 (official reference: 2026/3783).