On October 29, 2026, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted bill No. 15082-d in the first reading and as a whole, enshrining the right of 10th and 11th-grade students to complete their full general secondary education at the educational institution where they are already studying. The document was supported by 265 MPs. The initiative aims to ensure that the senior school reform and associated changes in school status do not disrupt the educational trajectory of those already enrolled in the two-year specialized secondary education program for the 2026/2027 academic year.
Main Content of the Law
According to the text of the adopted document, students who in the 2026/2027 academic year are receiving specialized secondary education within the two-year senior school have the right to complete their studies and receive a certificate of complete general secondary education at the same general secondary education institution or its legal successor where they were enrolled or transferred. Thus, the continuity of education is preserved regardless of organizational changes taking place at a specific educational institution.
What Happens to Schools That Changed Status
A separate block of the law is devoted to institutions that have already been reorganized or repurposed — in particular, into gymnasiums or academic lyceums. A transitional licensing mechanism is provided for them: the school can apply to the licensing authority to issue or reissue a license for educational activities at the level of specialized secondary education. The procedure is simplified — the license must be issued within 10 days without undergoing full licensing, and if the authority fails to do so on time, the license is considered issued or reissued automatically. Such a license will be valid until the end of the 2027/2028 academic year, ensuring that senior students can finish their studies in their familiar surroundings.
Position of the Profile Committee
As reported by Serhii Babak, Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, the decision allows children, regardless of school type — whether a lyceum, gymnasium, or another status — to finish their studies in the institution where they are studying in the 10th or 11th grade, even if the school type changes. According to him, students will be able to receive a full secondary education certificate in the institution where they studied throughout all their school years, and the license in case of a change in school type will be granted virtually automatically thanks to the transitional mechanism valid until the end of the 2027/2028 academic year.
Context: How Senior School Reform is Implemented
The adopted law integrates into the broader process of senior school transformation in Ukraine. Starting September 1, 2026, 150 academic lyceums began testing a new learning model for grades 10–12, where students can choose profiles and subjects for in-depth study. The full-scale launch of the senior school reform is scheduled for September 1, 2027: after the 9th grade, schoolchildren will be able to choose between an academic lyceum with grades 10–12 and a vocational college. On the updated map of the Ministry of Education and Science, one can check the future network of lyceums in their community, and within the lyceums themselves, students will be given a choice of study profiles according to their interests and plans. The law adopted on October 29 essentially buffers the “transition” cohort of senior students from the consequences of this restructuring.
