In a momentous event for Italian educational freedom, representatives of the homeschooling community were welcomed at the Ministry of Education in Rome on February 27th, 2025. The meeting with Minister of Education Giuseppe Valditara concentrated on the difficult tasks faced by families educating their children outside the traditional school system.
One of those representatives was Erika Di Martino, the founder of the Libera Schola Foundation and one of Italy’s foremost home education advocates. She is a mother of five homeschooled children, and over 15 years she has built a support network for homeschooling families by organizing conferences, publishing educational resources, and connecting parents through digital platforms. She also serves with GHEX, which is an international network of like minded people who promote and connect the global home education community.
Among the key areas discussed were the challenges families face with state schools, which often remain resistant to homeschooling. Families may feel put upon to alter their educational plans, face bureaucratic hurdles, or encounter institutional bias. Homeschooling in Italy is supposed to be a legally protected choice.
Erika said one of the conditions of homeschooling in Italy is for students to annually test with state recognized schools. Many times when a school is not familiar with homeschooling they can be “antagonistic.” As a result, families might look to “scuole paritarie,” private schools that have state accreditation. These can be more deferential towards homeschooling, but the use of private schools can be costly to the parents.
Minister Valditara was open to the idea. And if the center finds approval, Italy will be on the way to declaring the rights of homeschooling families and maintaining Italy’s freethinking tradition.