Lower Austria starts school year with all teaching posts filled

About 210,000 pupils will begin the new school year in Lower Austria on Monday, with all vacant teaching positions filled, according to the state’s education directorate, as reported by ORF. Several new rules will also take effect, including a ban on headscarves for female pupils under 14.

A total of 210,171 pupils are expected to attend schools in Lower Austria in the 2026/27 school year. The number includes 18,484 children starting primary school for the first time. In total, 68,734 children will attend primary schools and 43,822 will attend middle schools.

Another 38,744 pupils will attend academic secondary schools, while 34,582 will attend vocational middle or upper secondary schools. After primary school, 36.4 percent of children are expected to move on to an academic secondary school and 63.5 percent to a middle school.

Education directorate reports full staffing

The education directorate said staffing needs for the new school year had been met. All vacant teaching posts had been filled, Education Director Karl Fritthum said in a statement on Wednesday. The advertised positions received about twice as many applications as there were vacancies.

About 15,000 teachers work at compulsory schools in Lower Austria, including around 480 students. Academic secondary schools employ about 4,000 teachers, while vocational middle and upper secondary schools have a further 3,600. Around 60 people entering teaching from other professions will be newly hired.

More suspensions than last year

Lower Austria is placing a focus on protection from violence in the new school year. Schools recorded 78 so-called abstract threats during the previous school year, compared with 64 the year before. The number of suspensions also rose, from 159 to 204.

Under a new rule, pupils suspended for more than three days must receive support. Eight to 20 hours per week are planned. The support is generally to be provided at the school by a teacher together with a counselling teacher and with assistance from school psychology services.

No data on pupils affected by headscarf ban

The statutory ban on headscarves for female pupils under 14 will also apply from the start of the new school year. The education directorate does not know how many pupils in Lower Austria could be affected because the relevant data is not collected.

Schools were informed before the summer holidays, the education directorate said. School management teams are also to receive additional guidance on practical implementation during staff meetings.

In the event of a violation, a graduated procedure will apply. It starts with a conversation between the teacher and the pupil, followed by the involvement of the school management and the parents. The education directorate can be brought in at a further stage, and the process can ultimately lead to a report to the competent district authority.

As a final consequence, guardians could face fines of up to 800 euros, potentially imposed more than once.

Lower Austria Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner of the Austrian People’s Party had called for higher penalties shortly before the start of the school year. Education Minister for Lower Austria Christiane Teschl Hofmeister, also of the Austrian People’s Party, said she supported raising the maximum fine to 2,500 euros.

The new ban has not yet undergone a final constitutional assessment. The Constitutional Court overturned an earlier headscarf ban in 2020. Applications challenging the new regulation were rejected on formal grounds in the spring because the law had not yet come into force. Its substance has therefore not yet been reviewed.

Schools receive more flexibility in German support

German-language support is also changing with the new school year. Schools will have greater discretion to decide whether children requiring German support are taught separately or more extensively together with their regular class.

According to the education directorate, about 70 schools in Lower Austria have applied for an autonomous language-support model. German-language support currently affects around 5,000 pupils in the state.