In Brief — Mobile phones are banned from high school grounds, leveled groups in 6th and 5th grade become optional, new curricula prepare for the 2027 Brevet and Baccalaureate exams, and a general middle school competition is created. The 2026 back-to-school period feels less like an adjustment and more like a rupture.

Every September back-to-school period brings its share of novelties, but that of 2026 has the makings of a turning point. The most discussed measure, presented by the Minister of National Education, Édouard Geffray, in the courtyard of a Parisian high school a few days before the resumption, is uncompromising: mobile phones are now banned from high school premises, and not just during classes.

Smartphones, the Big Loser of the Back-to-School Period

The argument put forward by the ministry is based on a striking statistic: over a school year, a high school student statistically spends more time with their eyes glued to their screen than sitting in class. The stated objective is twofold – to help students concentrate better and to ease social relationships, which are sometimes poisoned by social media and instant messaging. The measure closes a loophole that had previously allowed older students to freely use their phones between classes.

On the ground, implementation promises to be varied: some institutions opt for locked lockers at the entrance, others rely on simple disciplinary sanctions. This is likely to fuel, from the very first weeks, a recurring debate about the real applicability of this type of rule on a national scale.

Leveled Groups, A Pause That is Ending

The second upheaval, more subtle but just as structuring: the leveled groups in French and mathematics, implemented in 6th and 5th grade since 2024 to adapt teaching to each student's level, are becoming optional. Each institution will be able to maintain them, adjust them, or abandon them. This shift reflects an observation shared by many teachers: the system, intended to reduce disparities, has sometimes had the opposite effect by solidifying leveled classes from the start of middle school.

Brevet and Baccalaureate: The March is Already Announced

Candidates for the 2027 Brevet and Baccalaureate exams are not spared: new curricula come into effect from this back-to-school period, preparing the ground for revised exams next year. A general middle school competition also makes its appearance, modeled on the general high school competition that rewards the best papers in France each year across several disciplines.

A Back-to-School Period Under Political Tension

These announcements come in an unstable political context, with the minister's position far from guaranteed in the medium term. Many observers of the education world are therefore questioning the sustainability of these reforms should a reshuffle alter the governmental landscape – a scenario made familiar by French political life over the past two years.

Editorial Opinion — The ban on mobile phones will be judged on a single criterion: its endurance beyond the first few weeks. The most spectacular school rules are also those that erode the fastest when their application relies entirely on school life teams, with constant resources.