Lower secondary education reform: the decree of May 28 republished

The Belgian Official Gazette (Moniteur belge) No. 198 of September 2, 2026 (p. 47988) publishes, in the form of an erratum, the decree of May 28, 2026, relating to the first year of secondary education (reference C − 2026/006402). This text, adopted by the Parliament of the French Community-Brussels Federation, establishes the first year of the common core and a system of 10,000 periods of reinforced support, while scheduling the transformation of first-degree schools starting from the 2028-2029 school year.

The erratum is prompted by a clerical error that occurred during the first publication of the decree in the Belgian Official Gazette of August 5, 2026 (p. 41814, NUMAC 2026005787). Part of the text of Article 33 was truncated and incorrectly repeated under Articles 34 and 35, causing a shift in the numbering of the articles. The decree is therefore republished in its entirety to restore a reliable text.

A gradual implementation of the common core

The decree organizes the generalization of the common core in the lower degree of secondary education according to a phased schedule:

• starting from 2026-2027, the first year of secondary education is organized solely as the first year of the common core;
• starting from 2027-2028, the second year of the lower degree replaces the second common year, the second differentiated year, and the additional year (2S);
• starting from 2028-2029, all schools organizing only the first degree of ordinary secondary education are transformed into schools organizing the lower degree.

The timetable is also revised: manual, technical, and technological training is reduced to one period in the first year, digital training to two periods, and reinforced support periods are distributed across disciplines throughout the year.

10,000 periods of reinforced support

The core of the system is reinforced support, intended for first-year students admitted to secondary education despite having obtained less than 50% in one or more parts of the common external certifying exam granting the basic education certificate (CEB), or less than 60% overall on this exam.

• A global total of 10,000 periods is distributed to the concerned schools.
• 0.5 periods are granted per student and per failed part of the exam.
• The total per school is rounded down to the nearest whole number, with a minimum of one period guaranteed when only one student is eligible.
• These periods are exclusively dedicated to remediation and cannot be used to permanently reduce the size of class groups.

The personnel responsible for this support is a general or technical course teacher from the lower level, in ordinary and specialized education (form 4). Positions are assigned on a voluntary basis, following the application of statutory devolution rules, and may lead to permanent appointment or employment.

Student Monitoring and Supervision

The decree strengthens the individualized monitoring of students. The orientation booklet becomes mandatory from 2026-2027 for first-year students and from 2027-2028 for second-year students. The student support file (DAccE) includes a section dedicated to the information necessary for implementing specific differentiation and reinforced support mechanisms, fed by data from the common external examination.

Transitional measures govern the transformation of schools: establishments that only organized the first level (DOA) and must limit their first-year enrollments for 2026-2027 and 2027-2028 will have their number of students calculated based on enrollments as of January 15, 2026, under cumulative conditions (impossibility of extending capacity and absence of a third-year school from the same organizing authority within a 2-kilometer radius).

A Structuring Reform for Secondary School

With this republication, the Wallonia-Brussels Federation legally secures the foundation of the core curriculum reform. For students, teachers, and organizing authorities, this decree sets the rules for supervision, remediation, and the transformation of establishments that will be applied progressively until 2028-2029, at the heart of the lower secondary school journey.

Official Source: Moniteur belge No. 198, September 2, 2026, p. 47988 — Decree of May 28, 2026, relating to the first year of secondary education (erratum), reference C − 2026/006402.