School Admission System Reform Bill Introduced (Chile, June 2026)
The government introduced a bill to change the School Admission System by adding two admission mechanisms within a single ministry platform.
Source: Ministry of Education of Chile
The government introduced a bill to change the School Admission System by adding two admission mechanisms within a single ministry platform.
What Changed?
The proposal would add a voluntary Mutual Choice route for oversubscribed schools using stated objective criteria while retaining a centralized Random Allocation route.
Old System vs New System
The existing system uses centralized allocation with statutory priority criteria and random assignment where priority rules do not resolve oversubscription.
If enacted, oversubscribed schools choosing the Mutual Choice route could use permitted criteria including prior attendance, academic performance from Grade 7 and alignment with the educational project, while designated places would remain protected for priority students and students with permanent special educational needs.
Who Is Affected?
Student Impact
If enacted, applicants to oversubscribed schools could face a different allocation method depending on the school's chosen route.
Parent / Family Impact
Parents would continue using a ministry-managed platform but could encounter additional admission criteria at participating oversubscribed schools.
School / Institution Impact
Participating schools would need to apply the authorized criteria and preserve required places for protected applicant groups.
Teacher / Staff Impact
Teachers are not assigned a direct new operational duty in the June proposal.
Key Dates
- 2026-06-23: reform bill presented
- commencement depends on legislative approval.
What To Do
- Families and schools should continue following the current admission rules until legislation is enacted and implementation instructions are issued.
What To Watch Next
Monitor parliamentary consideration, amendments, final eligibility criteria and any implementation calendar.
Global Context
The proposal permits comparison between centralized random allocation and mixed admission models that allow defined school-level criteria.
Source Record
Source type: Official announcement
Source name: Ministry of Education of Chile