Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Milan, July 30 2019 – The Right to Education Plan for the 2019/2020 school year has been approved: 14,4 million euros to guarantee scholastic integration and educational success for pupils with disabilities, textbooks for primary schools, the school transport service for those lives in areas not served by an adequate public transport network and for children with disabilities, the so-called mixed functions of technical-administrative auxiliary staff, contributions for office expenses and projects to reduce school dropout.

“Every year the Municipality makes important investments to guarantee the right and duty to education even to boys and girls in greatest difficulty – comments Education Councilor Laura Galimberti –, in particular for pupils with disabilities, to to which the most substantial funds are allocated".

As regards interventions aimed at school integration and the educational success of boys and girls with disabilities, the Administration has allocated approximately 10,5 million euros. The interventions, formulated in an individualized educational plan, are carried out through accredited third sector entities, which guarantee a homogeneous quality standard, and through the supply of teaching materials and equipment for use by the pupils. During the last school year, the funds allocated by the Municipality of Milan made it possible to assist over 3.400 children with disabilities.

However, over 2,3 million euros are invested by the Administration in the supply of book coupons. The free supply of textbooks in the year 2018/2019 concerned over 63.300 children.

Another chapter of the Right to Education concerns school transport dedicated to students resident in Milan who attend primary or lower secondary schools, in cases where the home is more than two kilometers from the local school and the route is not adequately covered from the public transport network, and for pupils with disabilities to reach school premises and therapy places. In total the allocation is over 800 thousand euros and last year it allowed the transport of over 1.100 children.  

Around 660 thousand euros are instead allocated to the 74 autonomous schools in the city for the so-called mixed functions of the technical-administrative auxiliary staff (ATA) and for various office expenses, through the provision of contributions assigned based on the number of students. This funding is in addition to the almost 600 thousand euros that the Municipality allocates to school autonomy for small ordinary maintenance interventions (with a separate provision) and to the many activities on which it collaborates with state schools: such as for example the Scuola Natura experiences, the Open Schools, the school lunch service, pre-school and evening games and summer centres.

Finally, the Municipality of Milan supports with a contribution of 100 thousand euros a "Second Chance School" project, which offers children with stories of failures in the school system (repetitions, dropouts, irregular attendance, educational failure, relational difficulties) parallel paths or alternatives to lower secondary school aimed at obtaining a middle school diploma.