The status and career of teachers and education staff. Law 198/2023 regulates: 

1. the professional career of staff in the national education system.
2. positions, competences, responsibilities, rights and obligations that are specific to teachers and other education staff.
3. the initial and in-service training of teachers and education staff.
4. requirements and arrangements for occupying teaching positions, auxiliary positions, and management, guidance and control positions, as well as requirements and arrangements for dismissal from such positions, for contract termination and for the retirement of teachers and other education staff.
5. the workload.
6. criteria for the award of distinctions and the application of penalties.

Teaching positions in school education are laid down in the Status and career of education staff (Law 198/2023) as follows:

• in early childhood education and care:
  • educator/educatoare (ECEC educator),
  • profesor pentru educaţie timpurie (ECEC teacher).
• in primary education:
  • învăţător/învăţătoare (primary school teacher),
  • profesor pentru învăţământ primar (teacher for primary education).
• in lower secondary, upper secondary (high-school) and postsecondary education:
  • profesor (teacher),
  • profesor de instruire practică (practical training teacher),
  • maistru-instructor (master instructor).
• in aptitudinal education, the position of corepetitor (répétiteur) has been added.
• in special education:
• profesor de psihopedagogie specială (special psycho-pedagogy teacher),
• educator/educatoare (ECEC educator),
• învăţător/învăţătoare (primary school teacher),
• profesor de educaţie timpurie (ECEC teacher),
• profesor de învăţământ primar (teacher for primary education),
• profesor (teacher),
• profesor-psihopedagog (psycho-pedagogy teacher),
• eduatoare/educator de sprijin (support ECEC educator),
• învăţător itinerant şi de sprijin (itinerant and support primary school teacher),
• profesor itinerant şi de sprijin (itinerant and support teacher),
• profesor-logoped (speech teacher),
• profesor preparator (nevăzător) (preparatory (sightless) teacher),
• profesor audiolog şcolar (audiologic school teacher),
• profesor kinetoterapeut (kinesiotherapy teacher),
• profesor de instruire practică (practical training teacher),
• maistru-instructor (master instructor). 

The positions above are complemented by the following teaching positions: 

• at County/Bucharest Educational Resources and Assistance Centres:
  • profesor-logoped (speech teacher),
  • profesor-psihopedagog (psycho-pedagogy teacher),
  • profesor itinerant şi de sprijin (itinerant and support teacher)
  • profesor-consilier şcolar (school counselling teacher)
  • profesor-psiholog (psychologist teacher).
• at Teacher Centres:
  • profesor-metodist (methodologist teacher),
  • profesor-asociat (associate teacher),
  • formator (trainer),
  • mentor de dezvoltare profesională (professional development mentor).
• in school sports clubs:
  • profesor (teacher),
  • antrenor (coach),
  • profesor-antrenor (coach-teacher)
• for out-of-school activities:
  • învăţător/învăţătoare (primary school teacher),
  • profesor pentru învăţământ primar (teacher for primary education),
  • profesor (teacher),
  • maistru-instructor (master instructor),
  • antrenor (coach),
  • profesor-antrenor (teacher-coach)
• in schools, in order to ensure the initial training and the professional insertion of teaching staff:
  • profesor mentor (mentor teacher).
• in documentation and information centres:
  • profesor documentarist (documentation teacher)
• in schools that are part of the defence, public order and national security system:
  • profesor (teacher),
  • instructor miltar (military instructor),
  • instructor de ordine şi securitate publică (public order and security instructor)
• in "hospital schools":
  • profesor (teacher),
  • monitor de predare/consiliere (teaching/counselling monitor).

Auxiliary positions are also laid down in the Status and career of education staff (Law 198/2023), and they are: 

• bibliotecar (librarian)
• documentarist (documentation specialist)
• redactor (editor)
• informatician (computer expert)
• laborant (laboratory worker)
• tehnician (technician)
• pedagog-şcolar (school pedagogue)
• instructor de educaţie extraşcolară (out-of-school instructor)
• asistent social (social assistant)
• corepetitor (répétiteur)
• mediator şcolar (school mediator)
• secretar (secretary)
• administrator financiar (financial manager)
• administrator de patrimoniu (assets administrator)
• inginer, subinginer (engineer, sub-engineer)
• supraveghetor de noapte (night watcher).

The Ministry of Education and Research, in cooperation with the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity, is authorised to establish, depending on the dynamics of the education system, and to regulate new teaching and auxiliary positions.

For higher education Higher Education Law No. 199/2023 establishes the following teaching positions:

• assistant professor
• lecturer
• associate professor
• professor

The initial teacher training for all teaching positions in Romania is based both on a concurrent model – meaning that the education and training in the specialisation of studies is combined with the education and training for the teaching career within the same educational sequence and also on the consecutive model - meaning that education and training for the teaching career is realized after the education and training in the specialty However, for certain teaching position a supplementary professional training is required that may be considered as part of the initial training but is actually finalised after the graduation of the required education level (e.g. specific training for teaching positions in special education, graduation of doctoral studies for lecturer, associate professor and professor in higher education etc.).

For Pre-university education, the initial training provided within formal education is completed with an induction year, carried out in a school unit, usually under the coordination of a mentor for induction with a duration of at least 1 year. During the insertion period debutant(e) teachers are employed based on labour contracts identical with the ones for the fully flagged teachers, containing the same responsibilities, rights and obligations (including teaching norm, salary, etc.). The insertion period comprises an important supportive and supervising dimension as well as a final formal evaluation – the on-the-job confirmation exam. Only after passing the on-the-job confirmation exam teachers’ entry their professional life as fully flagged teachers. Persons that do not pass the exam in the conditions set by the law cannot work anymore as qualified teachers. Selection, recruitment and appointment of teachers in public and private education have to be based on competitions. For public Pre-university education selection, recruitment and appointment of the teachers is accomplished through competitive examination, whilst in private Pre-university education and higher education is accomplished through open recruitment.

Basic work conditions for the teachers are established within the legislation. These refer to the teachers’ responsibilities, rights and obligations, appointment conditions, dismissal and retirement conditions, evaluation and in-service training, criteria for establishing norms and salaries, types of and criteria for awarding incentives, distinctions and prizes and for applying sanctions.

After passing the examination for a definitive teaching position, school teachers’ further development is a two-stage process. Each stage is completed by specific evaluations and leads to certification and a higher professional degree. The professional levels that can be attained by teachers in school education are in order: the teaching degree 2 and the teaching degree 1. Teaching degrees are rewarded with higher salaries for the same position, education and length of service in education and they confer rights to compete for management, guidance and control positions.

Regarding higher education, each successive teaching position is assimilated to a higher professional-degree, the highest being profesor universitar. 

Initial training for teaching positions in higher education is carried out in higher education institutions through the university psycho-pedagogical training program for higher education of 30 transferable ECTS/SECT study credits.

In-service training is a right of the teachers in Pre-university education. Educational institutions have to ensure all the necessary conditions for the teachers to participate to in-service training programmes. At the same time, the legislation states that that the teaching staff, as well as the management, guidance and control staff in pre-university education are required to participate periodically in continuing education programs, so as to accumulate, every 5 years, considered from the date of passing on-the-job confirmation exam, a minimum of 90 transferable professional credits.

Teachers in higher education are not compelled to undertake in-service training programmes.

All management, guidance and control positions in the school education system are occupied based on a competition which is open only to teachers. In order to be admitted to the competition, teachers must meet several requirements provided by law and the Ministry of Education and Research (a teaching degree, length of service in education, high performance, etc.). For each management, guidance and control position, specific allowances are provided, which add to the salary as appropriate for the education, teaching degree and length of service in education of the staff concerned.

All the management structures and positions of higher education institutions are elected through secret suffrage for a 5-year period, according to the provisions of the law and of the University Charter.

Management position and structures in higher education are chosen either by contest or by secret vote for 4 years, according to the provisions of the law and the University Charter of each higher education institution.

The rector of state and private universities is designated by one of the following methods:

• based on a public contest, based on a methodology approved by the newly elected university senate, in accordance with the present law
• by the universal, direct and secret vote of all the tenured teaching and research staff within the university and the student representatives from the university senate and the faculty councils. 

The deans are selected through a public contest organized by the new rector and validated by the university senate.

The University Senate is composed of a maximum of 75% teaching and research staff and a minimum of 25% student representatives. 

• The members of the University Senate, full-time teachers and researchers, are elected, without exception, in electoral districts established by the Senate, by direct universal and secret vote of all full-time teachers and researchers from the respective districts.
• The members of the University Senate, having the status of students, are elected, without exception, in electoral districts established by the university charter, by direct universal and secret vote of the students from the respective districts.

Each faculty will have representatives in the university senate, on the quota of representation stipulated in the University Charter.

The head of department is elected by direct and secret vote of all teaching and research staff in the department.