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Barcelona Schools Face Key Implementation Decisions Ahead of 2026-2027 Academic Year
Public network preparations center on class size targets, device restrictions and center integration as the new term approaches.
How we reported this
Barcelona's public education network will open the 2026-2027 academic year with targeted reductions in class ratios and the integration of the concerted Special Education Center Lexia in Gràcia into the public system. These steps form part of ongoing adjustments that also include a complete ban on smartphones and smartwatches across Catalonia's compulsory education settings.
Class Ratio Targets and Network Adjustments
Officials aim for 73 percent of public centers to operate with a maximum of 20 students per class in infant and primary education. The move directly affects staffing and space allocation decisions that school leaders must finalise before September. The integration of CEE Lexia in Gràcia adds capacity for students with additional support needs and requires coordination between existing public staff and the incoming centre's personnel.
Device Restriction Rollout
Catalonia will enforce a total prohibition on smartphones and watches for students in compulsory education during the 2026-2027 year. Schools and colleges must establish storage, communication and enforcement procedures that apply in every situation, including breaks and after-hours activities on school grounds. The policy replaces earlier partial measures and places responsibility on each centre to communicate rules to families in advance.
Segregation Trends and Planning Context
Between the 2020-2021 and 2023-2024 academic years, school segregation indices in Barcelona fell from 0.49 to 0.39 in pre-school and primary education and from 0.44 to 0.34 in secondary education. These recorded improvements provide a baseline against which the 2026-2027 measures will be assessed. International schools operating in the city have grown from 16 in 2014 to 31 today, enrolling 13,361 students, yet the public network changes focus on equity within municipal centres.
Education authorities and school management teams now face concrete decisions on timetabling, staff deployment and compliance monitoring to meet the ratio and ban requirements. Monitoring frameworks already used to track segregation will likely extend to the new class-size and device policies once the year begins.