Institutional portal - Municipality of Milan

Milan, 1 August 2021 - The right to study plan for the 2021/2022 school year has been approved: more than 16,1 million euros to guarantee scholastic integration and educational success for pupils with disabilities, textbooks for primary schools, the school transport service , also 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 – comments Education Councilor Laura Galimberti – the Municipality makes important investments to guarantee the right and duty to education even to boys and girls in greatest difficulty. Even in 2021, despite the difficulties caused by the management of the pandemic, the commitment is not to cut services, especially those dedicated to the weakest sections of the population, such as pupils with disabilities, for whom the most significant funds are allocated" .    

As regards interventions aimed at school integration and the educational success of boys and girls with disabilities, in fact, the Administration has allocated over 12,3 million euros. The interventions, formulated in an individualized educational plan, are carried out in Milan schools through accredited Third Sector entities, which guarantee a homogeneous quality standard, also through the supply of teaching materials and equipment for use by pupils. During the last school year, the funds allocated by the Municipality of Milan made it possible to assist 3965 pupils with disabilities.   

On the other hand, 2,3 million euros are the funds that the Administration invests for the supply of book coupons. The free supply of textbooks to primary school students in the 2020/2021 year concerned approximately 58 thousand children.    
Another chapter of the Right to Education concerns school transport dedicated to pupils 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 students with disabilities to reach school premises and therapy places. In total the allocation is over 300 thousand euros for approximately one thousand students. Last year, due to Covid, requests had suffered a decline and the students transported were just over 900.     
 
860 thousand euros are instead allocated to the 74 school authorities 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. The funds contribute to ensuring the opening and closing service of school premises and the related cleaning for each site where pre-school activities and evening games are carried out, support for administrative procedures relating to registration for municipal services and the purchase of chancellery for the functioning of the secretarial offices.
 
Finally, the Municipality of Milan supports with a contribution of 125 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.    
To the allocation approved by the Council are added the resources of the restricted surplus intended by implementing the guidelines of the City Council: 100 thousand euros to strengthen assistance for the disabled and 120 thousand euros for small ordinary maintenance.