The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has adopted Law No. 15082-d, which guarantees pupils the opportunity to complete their full general secondary education at their own institution, even if it is reorganised or its type is changed, including from a lyceum to a gymnasium. The document was supported by 265 Members of Parliament.
The initiative for such transitional mechanisms had previously been repeatedly raised by the All-Ukrainian Association of Communities. The organisation insisted on a differentiated approach to establishing a network of academic lyceums, especially for front-line areas and communities facing high security risks, where, due to population evacuation, pupil displacement and difficult transport accessibility, it is hard to build a stable upper secondary school network.
The provisions of the law apply to pupils who, in the 2026/2027 academic year, are receiving specialised secondary education under the two-year upper secondary school programme. They will be able to complete their studies at the same educational institution or its legal successor and obtain a certificate of full general secondary education.
A simplified procedure is envisaged for institutions which, after reorganisation, become gymnasiums but continue to teach upper secondary school pupils. Such institutions will be able to obtain a licence to provide specialised secondary education under a fast-track procedure: the decision on issuing it must be taken within 10 working days. If no decision is made within this period, the licence is deemed to have been issued automatically. It will remain valid until the end of the 2027/2028 academic year.
The explanatory note to the document stresses that implementation of the law does not require additional expenditure from the state or local budgets, as it concerns temporary transitional mechanisms within the already existing network of educational institutions.