DL 8/2025 amends the home education law

Decreto-Lei n.º 8/2025 was published on 11 February 2025 and took effect on the next working day 11. Decreto-Lei n.º 8/2025, de 11 de fevereiroDiário da República. It is the first and, as of September 2026, only amendment to Decreto-Lei n.º 70/2021, the law that governs home education (ensino doméstico) and individual tuition (ensino individual) 22. Decreto-Lei n.º 70/2021, de 3 de agostoDiário da República.

What changed

• Provas ModA replace provas de aferição. Articles 5, 12 and 15 now refer to the new monitoring tests at the end of 4.º and 6.º ano. The collaboration agreement (protocolo de colaboração) must cover them, and the guardian must register the child for them 1.
• Exemption for significant curricular adaptations. New paragraphs 3 and 4 of article 19 say that pupils with the additional measure "adaptações curriculares significativas" under DL 54/2018 do not take provas de equivalência à frequência, provas finais or exames nacionais to complete a cycle. The assessment rules of DL 54/2018 apply instead, run by the school of enrolment 1.
• Certificates. A new paragraph 2 in article 21 says these pupils receive their certificates under article 30 of DL 54/2018 1.
• The exemption also applies to pupils who were already enrolled when the decree-law took effect 1.

What did not change

The annex listing the citizenship domains, the degree requirement, the deadlines and the protocolo procedure are unchanged 1. Público estimated that only about 43 homeschooled pupils were affected by the exemption at the time 33. Ensino doméstico: alunos com necessidades específicas isentos de provas e exames finaisPúblico.

What to do

If your child has, or may need, additional measures, talk to the school of enrolment early so the measures are recorded in the plan and the protocolo. See special needs and exams.