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The freedom to choose your child's school
Parents are free to choose their child's school. They can choose a public school or a private school.
Key points of the sheet
- For a public school, you just contact the town hall (mairie) or the school near your home. All its diplomas have official value.
- The republican School is free, secular and compulsory. It passes on the values of the Republic, such as citizenship and secularism (laïcité).
- Parents can choose a private school, with no limit linked to where they live. The State also controls these schools according to their status.
- A private school can have extra costs compared with a public school. Not all its diplomas have official value.
- A parent can, as an exception, teach their child at home themselves. A special authorisation is needed, for certain reasons.
- Examples of reasons: the child's health, intensive sport, a disability. The law strictly regulates these reasons.
Words to know
- public school (école publique)
- You enrol the child through the town hall or the school near your home; all its diplomas have official value.
- private school (école privée)
- You can enrol there with no limit linked to your home; the State also controls it according to its status, and there can be extra costs.
- republican School (École républicaine)
- It is free, secular and compulsory; it passes on the values of the Republic.
- home schooling (école à la maison)
- A parent teaches their own child, as an exception and with a special authorisation.
- secularism (laïcité)
- It is a value of the Republic that the republican School passes on.
Test yourself: 3 questions
What is the republican School like?
In French, the language of the exam: Comment est l'École républicaine ?
The sheet says the republican School is free, secular and compulsory.
Who controls private schools according to their status?
In French, the language of the exam: Qui contrôle les écoles privées selon leur statut ?
Private schools are also controlled by the State according to their status.
What is needed to teach your child at home?
In French, the language of the exam: Que faut-il pour faire l'école à la maison ?
To teach a child at home, a special authorisation is needed, for certain reasons.
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Questions on the ministry's list that rest on this sheet
More in this topic (Parenthood)
Source
Sheet “La liberté de choisir l’école de son enfant” of the French Ministry of the Interior: formation-civique.interieur.gouv.fr. Content published under the Etalab Open Licence 2.0. This page is a plain-language adaptation made by Hexaciv, which is not an official site: if in doubt, the ministry's text is the one that counts.
Ministry sheet read on 23 October 2026, still identical on 25 October 2026.