The Three Different Administrative Regimes for Schools in France
By Barbara Moross, Former Head of Lower School – American Section, Lycée International de Saint Germain-en-Laye
In France there are many schools to choose from including bilingual schools, and they all fall under three administrative headings. They are:
- Public (publique)
- Private but under contract with the French Ministry of Education (privée, sous contrat)
- Private and independent of the French Ministry of Education (privée, hors contrat)
Public schools are found in every neighborhood and village. They are completely under the auspices of the French Ministry of Education, and there are no fees for attending.
French schools follow a national curriculum, which is reviewed regularly by the French Ministry of Education. Reforms are made, and teachers must adapt their teaching methods and/or content to adhere to the guidelines set out by the Ministry. Otherwise, teachers are free to teach the content the way they see fit and to organize the introduction of new concepts in the order they choose.
The private schools that are sous contrat receive state aid; the teachers are either state teachers or teachers with the same training as the state teachers, and they are paid by the state. In return the school must teach the national curriculum. These schools charge a tuition fee to help pay for building maintenance and other expenses that are not covered by the state. Parochial schools are also eligible for this semi-private status.
Private schools that are hors contrat, although governed by some French laws concerning schooling and children, are much more autonomous. They are usually expensive because they are not state-subsidized at all.
When considering the various options, it is important to remember that although a student can move fairly easily between public and private schools that are sous contrat, this is not the case for those wishing to transfer from a private school that is hors contrat.
Most, but not all, of the bilingual elementary schools in the Paris region are private, and many are sous contrat. All monolingual English schools are hors contrat, as are the bilingual Montessori schools, since they do not follow the French national curriculum.
Keren Fedida
Keren Fedida
