Italian teacher training bonus cut by 20% in 2026 as eligibility expands

Italy's Carta del docente, a €500 annual voucher for teacher training and professional development established in 2015 under Matteo Renzi, has been reduced to €383 for the 2025-2026 school year. The cut follows a series of EU and Italian court rulings that extended the benefit to precarious teachers. In 2022, the European Court of Justice ruled that excluding temporary staff was discriminatory; the Italian Supreme Court confirmed this in 2023, and a further EU decision in 2025 challenged the exclusion of short-term substitutes. As a result, approximately 253,000 additional precarious teachers became eligible, expanding the beneficiary pool while the overall budget remained around €400 million. The per-teacher amount dropped by over 20%, with credits usable until August 31, 2027. Education Minister Giuseppe Valditara denied a cut, arguing the reduction stems from correcting historical discrimination. To compensate, the ministry announced €281 million in EU funds for schools to purchase digital devices, books, and tools for teachers on loan, aiming to shift the Carta from individual hardware purchases toward professional training. Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi criticized the reduction as a 'slash' to teacher training under Giorgia Meloni's government.