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On Thursday 13 July 2023, the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg's parliament) approved the bill raising the school leaving age in the Grand Duchy from sixteen to eighteen.
The new provisions concerning compulsory education will come into force from the start of the 2026 school year. According to the ministry, this period allows education stakeholders to extend additional and alternative offers meeting the individual needs of young people who have dropped out of school.
Minors aged sixteen or over wishing to enter the world of work may request an exemption from compulsory education for the duration of their employment contract.
According to Luxembourg's Ministry of Education, Children and Youth, which announced the measure last year, this is an important part of the strategy to combat school dropout and youth unemployment. The ministry added that extending compulsory schooling until the age of eighteen aligned with trends in neighbouring countries as well as international recommendations to strengthen the fight against school dropout.
"This is an important step in offering additional qualification opportunities and individualised support to a particularly fragile school population," stated Luxembourg's Minister of Education, Children and Youth, Claude Meisch. "The fight against school dropout is a daily struggle. With this new law, we give ourselves the obligation to continue to improve our systems to fight against school dropouts”.
The law also introduces regular monitoring of compulsory education by the state, which will take over from the municipalities in this mission. In the event of non-compliance with the school obligation, a series of steps will be triggered which may lead to an investigation by the juvenile court. However, these steps are not followed by penal sanctions. The aim, according to the ministry, is to support young people and their families in finding the most suitable route to a qualification.
