Innovative, Specialized, and Special Educational Institutions

Non-specialized schools may be announced as innovative schools by a decision of the Council of Ministers upon the proposal of the Minister of Education and Science. Innovative schools are schools that improve the quality of education by developing and introducing innovative elements regarding the organization and/or content of instruction, organizing management, instruction, and the learning environment, use new teaching methods, and develop new approaches to instructional content, curricula, and lesson plans.

In the 2025/2026 school year, there are 526 innovative schools in Bulgaria. This list, approved by the Council of Ministers in September 2025, covers educational institutions from all 28 regions of the country.

Specialized Schools

The education system comprises specialized schools. Specialized schools are: sports schools (grades 5–12 inclusive); cultural schools (grades 1–12, 5–12 inclusive); and arts schools (grades 1–12, 5–12 inclusive).

• Sports schools provide general education and specialized training in the field of sports, and at the secondary level, they also offer vocational training in the “Sports” field. During the 2024–2025 school year, there are 25 sports schools in Bulgaria.
• Schools of culture provide general and specialized education in the field of culture, as well as specialized training. There is a National Cultural Education Complex for the Study of Italian Language and Culture (in partnership with the Republic of Italy) in Sofia under the Ministry of Culture, and the “Constantine Cyril the Philosopher” National High School for Ancient Languages and Cultures—an affiliated high school of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski.”
• Schools of arts provide general education, specialized training in the arts, and vocational training in the relevant professional fields. There are 21 schools of arts in the country.

Special Schools

There are three types of special schools: schools for the education and support of pupils with sensory impairments—hearing or visual impairments; educational boarding schools; and social-educational boarding schools. These schools provide education for completing a grade and for obtaining primary and secondary education. They also provide training for acquiring vocational qualifications, and specialized training may be offered.

In special schools for students with sensory impairments, mandatory instruction in special subjects is also provided. Educational boarding schools are for the education of students who have committed antisocial acts. Social-pedagogical boarding schools are for the education of students who do not have suitable living conditions in their families, are deprived of parental care and supervision, or have committed antisocial acts. The total number of special schools for the 2024/2025 school year is eight.

Personal Development Support Centers

There are Personal Development Support Centers, which are institutions within the preschool and school education system that organize activities to support the inclusion, education, and upbringing of children and students, as well as activities to develop their interests and abilities. The Center for Personal Development Support does not provide for the completion of a grade or stage of education or the attainment of a degree and/or professional qualification, with the exception of the Center for Special Educational Support, which may also provide vocational training for the acquisition of a first-level vocational qualification and/or a qualification in a part of a profession.

Depending on their activities, they are classified as:

• Development of interests, abilities, competencies, and achievements in the fields of science, technology, the arts, and sports;
• Career guidance and counseling;
• Preventive, diagnostic, rehabilitative, corrective, and resocialization work with children and pupils;
• Resource support for children and students with special educational needs;
• Pedagogical and psychological support;
• Implementation of support and training programs for the families of children and students with disabilities.

Astronomical observatories and planetariums also serve as centers for personal development.

Special Educational Support Centers

These are the special educational support centers that provide:

• Diagnostic, rehabilitative, corrective, and therapeutic work with children and students for whom the assessment by the regional center for inclusive education support has determined that, in accordance with their educational needs, they may be educated at a special educational support center under the conditions and in the manner specified in the national educational standard for inclusive education;
• Pedagogical and psychological support;
• Implementation of support and training programs for the families of children and pupils with special educational needs and disabilities;
• Education for children and pupils with special educational needs and disabilities of compulsory preschool and school age, and vocational training for the acquisition of a first-level vocational qualification and/or a partial vocational qualification.

Specialized Support Units

Specialized support units are institutions responsible for implementing and promoting activities related to the implementation of educational policies, including support for the process of inclusive education, as well as for providing information and technical support to the preschool and school education system. Specialized support units are responsible for:

• Research and information activities;
• Organizational and/or methodological support;
• Activities related to the qualification of educational professionals;
• Activities related to the organization, preparation, and conduct of internal and external evaluations and participation in international studies related to preschool and school education;
• Activities related to the implementation of state policy to support the process of inclusive education;
• Activities related to the management of international programs;
• Activities related to the preservation and development of the educational sector.

Other Educational Institutions

Schools in places of deprivation of liberty are established to provide education to persons deprived of liberty under the terms and conditions of the Code of Criminal Procedure. These schools organize and conduct programs for the acquisition of primary and secondary education. They may also offer training for the acquisition of vocational qualifications.

Bulgarian schools abroad are established and operate on the territory of another country in accordance with the Law on Preschool and School Education and under the terms of international treaties signed by the Republic of Bulgaria.