A New School Year: Parents’ Rights They Need to Know

As schools reopen, Turkish students and parents are preparing for new rules across nearly every part of school life. Changes introduced through a regulation dated July 28 and a Ministry of National Education circular dated August 19 cover enrollment, transfers, special education, parent meetings, school security, assessment and practice exams.

Attorney and mediator Burcu Akar Muratoğlu says the changes extend beyond the curriculum. They also concern student rights, school safety, the enrollment system and relations between schools and families. For the 2026-2027 school year, she says, schools are being reshaped around security and children’s rights as well as classroom teaching.

Schools cannot demand registration fees or compulsory payments under another name. Student enrollment takes place automatically through the e-School system. Restrictions will also apply to requiring students to buy practice exams from private publishers or directing families toward expensive or specific-brand stationery.

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This year, we face important changes not only in the education programme, but also in student rights, school security, the enrollment and transfer system, special education, parent-school relations, and assessment and evaluation.

Parents will need appointments to meet teachers. Meetings will be arranged through the School Appointment System, and unannounced visits will not be allowed. The stated aim is to improve school security and organise meetings, but Muratoğlu warns that the system should not become bureaucracy that prevents parents from raising urgent issues about their children’s education.

Students will continue to be barred from keeping mobile phones in classrooms, and teachers are also expected not to use phones during lessons. Schools are expected to use ministry-approved digital platforms for education and homework. Searches of students’ bags or belongings must take account of necessity, proportionality, the child’s best interests, privacy and human dignity. Assessment will also consider participation in classroom activities and students’ cognitive, social-emotional and physical development, rather than relying only on exam results.

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Security does not mean unlimited authority.