Bulgarian school rules: Ordinance No. 10 on school activities

Ordinance No. 10 of 2016 on the Organisation of Activities in School Education is the state educational standard by which every non-specialised school builds its teaching time, forms of study, admission plan and transfers of pupils. For headteachers, school in-house lawyers and experts at the Regional Education Directorates (РУО) it is an everyday working tool, not a theoretical text.

The problem is that the ordinance is in constant regulatory motion. In 2025 it was amended twice, and some of the latest changes enter into force only on 1 July 2026. This creates a real risk of applying a version that is no longer in force, or one that has not yet come into force. This analysis organises the current version and separates clearly what already applies from what is coming.

What Ordinance No. 10 regulates and its link to the ЗПУО

Ordinance No. 10 is not a stand-alone act. It was issued as a state educational standard on the basis of Art. 22(10) and Art. 146(2), item 3 of the Preschool and School Education Act (ЗПУО). This means that any interpretation of its provisions must be made in the context of the parent act, and the references to specific articles of the ЗПУО have direct normative significance.

Article 1 outlines the six areas that the ordinance regulates. This matters for positioning each specific question correctly: the organisational rules for admission, for example, are found precisely here, and not in the ordinance on assessment or in the ordinance on inclusive education.

Organisation of teaching and non-teaching time

The school year lasts 12 months and begins on 15 September, and in sports schools on 1 September. This is a stable provision, not affected by the latest amendments, but it is the starting point for all deadlines in organising the teaching process.

The most significant change in teaching time came with the amendment in State Gazette (ДВ) No. 50 of 2025. Before it the length of the school term was fixed, whereas now Art. 4 introduces a flexible range. Precision is critical here: the range of 17 to 18 teaching weeks refers specifically to the FIRST school term, not to the school term in general.

The new paragraph 3 of Art. 4 ties the end of the first term to the mid-term break. Note: the text of this paragraph was further amended by State Gazette No. 79 of 2025, and this amendment comes into force only on 1 July 2026. This is one of the points where mixing versions leads to error.

Forms of study under Ordinance No. 10

Article 30 lists the eight forms of study. This is an exhaustive list: a school cannot organise a form outside it. The forms are adopted by the pedagogical council, which means that the decision is collective and must be recorded in minutes.

The restriction in paragraph 2 is often missed. Schools under Art. 44(1) of the ЗПУО, that is, special schools (for pupils with sensory impairments, reform boarding schools and social-pedagogical boarding schools), can organise only day and combined forms. Applying another form in these schools would breach the ordinance.

Beyond the general procedure, Art. 31(2) sets out six cases in which the form of study is recommended by the personal development support team. The last of them concerns a pupil with special educational needs (СОП).

Changing the form of study

A change of form under Art. 32 is one of the most sensitive procedures, because the competent authority differs depending on the specific transition. In some cases an order of the headteacher is enough, in others permission from the head of the РУО is needed. An important deadline: the head of the РУО rules and notifies the applicants in writing within 10 days.

With the amendment in State Gazette No. 74 of 2024, new paragraphs 6 and 7 were created in Art. 32, regulating the transition to the dual system of study at the request of a partner employer before the second upper-secondary stage, under the conditions of Art. 12(2) of the ЗПУО.

Admission plan: school, state and additional

Chapter Four distinguishes three kinds of admission plan (план-прием): school, state and additional state. The state admission plan for grade VIII in profile-oriented and vocational high schools is set under Art. 142(3), item 1 of the ЗПУО, and admission to grade V under Art. 142(3), item 5 of the ЗПУО. The additional state admission plan is regulated in Art. 142(4) of the ЗПУО.

Transfer of pupils

Transfer under Chapter Five applies to pupils from grade I to XII in non-specialised state, municipal and private schools. For arts schools, culture schools and sports schools the procedure is set in the special ordinances under Art. 146(2), items 1 and 2 of the ЗПУО.

Transfer is possible only if there is a vacant place. Vacant places are the places up to the approved school and state admission plan, and they are announced within three days of becoming vacant on the school's website and at the РУО.

The deadlines for transfer under Art. 106 are often quoted inaccurately. The precise position is as follows: for both grades I-VI and grades VII-X, transfer is possible throughout the school year. The limit of 30 school days before the end of each term applies only to grades VII-X and only when the transfer takes place during term time.

The 2025 changes and what is coming

In 2025 Ordinance No. 10 was amended twice, and this is key to applying it correctly. The amendment in State Gazette No. 50 of 20 June 2025 introduced the flexible school terms and full-day organisation in the centres for special educational support (Art. 17 to 18). The following amendment, in State Gazette No. 79 of 26 September 2025, is the latest version, but not everything in it applies immediately.

Beyond the amendments already promulgated, a draft of a further amendment and supplement of the ordinance has been published on the public consultation portal. This confirms that the act remains in active regulatory motion, and it calls for periodic checking of the current version.

Practical tips for applying it

In education law the date of entry into force is just as important as the text of the provision. The following checklist summarises the points where mistakes most often arise in applying Ordinance No. 10.

Ordinance No. 10 is part of the wider cluster of education law, together with the Higher Education Act and the Vocational Education and Training Act. For the full text see Ordinance No. 10 on lex.bg and the parent ЗПУО.