Portugal's 2026/27 School Year: New Phone Rules and a Later Start for Secondary Pupils

If you have school-age children in Portugal, September looks different this year in two ways. First, the start dates are staggered: most pupils go back between 11 and 15 September, but secondary students (Years 10–12) do not start until 21 September. Second, the school smartphone ban is growing: the prohibition that already covers Years 1–6 extends to Years 7–9, under a decree-law approved on 30 July 2026.

Here are the dates, the new phone rules, and what to sort out before term starts — whether you are already living here or arriving with children before September.

When does the 2026/27 school year start?

There is no single first day this year. The calendar is split:

Stage	First day of classes
Pre-school and basic education (Years 1–9)	Between 11 and 15 September 2026 — each school picks its exact date
Secondary — ensino secundário (Years 10–12)	21 September 2026

The late secondary start is deliberate. An extraordinary sitting of national exams runs on 3, 4, 7 and 8 September, and the government pushed the secondary start back so the teachers grading those exams can finish before classes begin, rather than doing both at once.

The practical consequence lands on households, not schools: a family with a Year 6 child and a Year 11 child gets two different first days, roughly a week apart. And because the exact date inside the 11–15 September window is each school’s own call, the only reliable source for your child’s first day is the school or agrupamento (school cluster) itself — ask now rather than in September.

How will the new phone ban work?

Portugal has banned smartphones for pupils in Years 1–6 since the 2025/26 school year. Years 7–9 (3.º ciclo, the last stage of basic education, up to around age 14 or 15) worked under softer rules: schools restricted phone use but there was no blanket national prohibition.

That changes now. On 30 July 2026 the Council of Ministers approved a decree-law extending the full prohibition to Years 7, 8 and 9, which means the national ban will cover basic education from Year 1 through Year 9.

The word “ban” is narrower than it sounds:

• It prohibits using a smartphone within the school environment — it does not stop your child owning a phone or carrying one to school.
• Each school decides the mechanics (where devices are stored, how the rule is enforced) through its internal regulations, so the practice will vary from school to school.
• Exceptions require prior authorisation by the responsible teacher or activity lead, and cover properly justified pedagogical, health and translation uses — relevant if your child manages a condition through a phone app, or is still working in a second language. Boarding pupils may also use devices outside teaching time, in times and places set by school management.

Secondary pupils (Years 10–12) are outside the national ban. Their schools can still restrict phones through internal regulations, but that is the school’s rule, not the state’s.

When does the phone ban take effect?

Two dates, and both are real, but they mean different things. The decree-law was approved by the Council of Ministers on 30 July 2026 and published as Decreto-Lei n.º 176/2026 in Diário da República no. 171, Series I, on 3 September 2026. Its article 4 sets entry into force the following day, 4 September 2026 — that is when the prohibition has legal effect. Article 3 separately gives schools until 1 January 2027 to adapt their internal regulations; that date is a deadline for schools’ own paperwork, not a delay to when the ban itself binds.

For planning purposes: assume the ban applies to your Year 7–9 child from day one of term, because it already does in law.

Why is Portugal restricting phones in schools?

The government’s argument is that keeping smartphones out of schools improves concentration, social interaction and the school environment. A PLANAPP study of the existing ban, as reported by RTP, found that schools with a full smartphone ban saw around 36% more socialisation among pupils than schools with no restrictions, alongside less indiscipline and bullying.

The extension also follows the schools themselves: most schools teaching Years 7–9 had already restricted or banned phones for older pupils voluntarily, before any national requirement. Portugal is not alone in this — France, Sweden and the Netherlands run similar restrictions.

What else changes this year?

Less than the headlines suggest. The Citizenship and Development curriculum (Cidadania e Desenvolvimento) keeps its eight core areas: four compulsory — Human Rights; Democracy and Political Institutions; Sustainable Development; Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship — and four more (Health; Media; Risk and Road Safety; Pluralism and Cultural Diversity) that must be taught at least once during each stage of schooling.

What should you do next?

• Confirm your child’s first day with the school directly — the 11–15 September window is decided school by school, and the secondary date moved this year.
• Budgeting for the school year in Portugal? Our cost of living guide covers what family life actually costs here in 2026.
• If your child needs a phone for a health reason, the exception requires justification — healthcare in Portugal explains how the system (and its paperwork) works.
• Choosing where to live with school-age children? Start with our city hubs for Lisbon and Porto.

School rules in Portugal are set partly at national level and partly in each school’s internal regulations — confirm dates and phone rules with your school, and check Decreto-Lei n.º 176/2026 directly for the current text.