As part of the promotion of the educational, formative and social value of motor and sporting activities, as well as the right to education and educational success of students engaged in sporting activities of national importance, the Ministry of Education and Merit, in continuity with previous years, promotes at secondary schools of the second level also for the current school year 2026/2027, the Experimental didactic project "Elite-level Student-Athlete", implemented in collaboration with the Department for Sport of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), the Italian Paralympic Committee (CIP) and Sport and Health S.p.A.

PROCEDURE FOR THE RELEASE OF CERTIFICATION BY THE F.C.I. FOR THE PURPOSE OF PARTICIPATION IN THE STUDENT-ATHLETE ELITE-LEVEL DIDACTIC EXPERIMENTATION (D.M. 3 March 2023 n. 43) SCHOOL YEAR 2026 - 2027.

On September 15th, the note from the Ministry of Education and Merit (Department for the educational system of instruction and training – General Directorate for students, inclusion and school guidance) was issued, confirming, also for the school year 2026-2027, the Student-Athlete experimental didactic project.

The project allows students enrolled in state and private secondary schools of the second level who practice a sporting activity at national level to reconcile their school path with their competitive path.

The general requirements for athletes of national interest are confirmed:

1. Representatives of the senior National teams and/or their respective youth categories;
2. Athletes involved in the preparation of the Olympic, Paralympic and Youth Games (summer and winter);
3. Student recognized as an "Athlete of National Interest" by the National Sports Federation or the associated Sports Discipline of reference.

P.S.  This agreement already existed, but it has been improved and especially expanded and broadened. We know well how important school is, how useful it is for our girls and boys to be able to reconcile their study activities with their sporting activities. We know equally well that schools struggle to accept that there are girls and boys who are athletes of national interest (today they would call them prospects, a term I abhor), but in this case the Federations and ours in particular (the Italian Cycling Federation), has done its part, "bringing home" a very important political-social result. An extraordinary result given that we have moved from certifying just a few dozen young people to considering all those called up to the Italian championships of all categories and all specialties, which will allow them to better plan class assignments (tests) and oral examinations, as well as take advantage of permits for training and other considerations that a student-athlete needs. To learn more and understand this new provision, you can read the guidelines on the Italian Cycling Federation website.         p.a.s.