BES Italy: Bisogni Educativi Speciali and the Special Needs Framework

Italy's formal special education system — Law 104 for disabilities, Law 170 for learning disorders — covers a well-defined population. But what about children who struggle at school without meeting those clinical thresholds? What about children who just arrived and don't speak Italian yet? What about children going through a difficult family situation that is affecting their learning?

Italy's answer is the BES framework.

BES stands for Bisogni Educativi Speciali — Special Educational Needs. Introduced by a Ministerial Directive in December 2012, the BES framework extends temporary school accommodations to any student experiencing difficulty, whether or not they have a medical diagnosis.

What BES Covers

The 2012 directive defines three broad categories of special educational needs under the BES umbrella:

Category 1 — Certified disabilities and disorders: Children with a Law 104 disability or a Law 170 learning disorder already fall within BES. Their needs are addressed through the PEI or PDP frameworks described in those laws.

Category 2 — Other diagnosed conditions: Children with conditions that don't meet the clinical threshold for Law 104 but are identified by specialists — ADHD without a co-occurring disability, borderline intellectual functioning, emotional or psychological difficulties identified by a clinician. A formal clinical report is generally required for this category.

Category 3 — Socio-economic, cultural, and linguistic disadvantages: Children experiencing difficulties related to their circumstances rather than a fixed diagnosis. This includes children from economically disadvantaged families, children who have experienced trauma or family disruption, and — critically for expat families — children who do not yet speak Italian.

It is Category 3 that matters most for newly arrived international families.

What BES Provides: The Temporary PDP

For students identified as having special educational needs under BES, the school can activate a temporary PDP — a Personalized Teaching Plan — without requiring a medical diagnosis.

This is not the same PDP as the one under Law 170. It is a simpler, temporary document that allows teachers to:

• Modify grading rubrics to account for the student's circumstances
• Provide bilingual dictionaries and translated materials
• Grant extra time on assessments
• Substitute oral exams for written exams
• Use simplified language in instructions
• Reduce the volume of written work required

The BES PDP is a school-level decision. The class council (all teachers who teach the student) can propose it, and it requires parental consent. No specialist certification is needed for Category 3 cases — the school uses its own professional judgment and parental input to determine whether BES is warranted.

How BES Helps Newly Arrived Expat Children

For expat children who arrive in Italy mid-year or at the start of a school year with no Italian language skills, the BES Category 3 pathway is a practical lifeline.

Without BES activation, a child who speaks no Italian is evaluated on the same terms as their Italian-speaking classmates. They get failing marks in every subject not because they don't understand the content but because they can't understand the questions. This is educationally harmful and legally unnecessary.

With BES, the school can immediately activate temporary accommodations that allow the child to demonstrate knowledge in ways that account for their language acquisition stage. Teachers can be more flexible in how they assess comprehension. Grades can reflect actual learning rather than language proficiency.

This does not require any paperwork from you beyond signing the PDP once the class council proposes it. If your child starts school and is clearly struggling with Italian, ask the class teacher or the school's inclusion coordinator (Referente per l'Inclusione) whether a BES plan has been activated or whether one should be.

BES and the Risk of Misclassification

The BES framework carries one significant risk that expat families should understand: it can mask a genuine learning disorder.

A child with dyslexia who arrives in Italy and struggles with reading is likely to be classified as BES Category 3 (linguistic disadvantage) rather than assessed for DSA. The linguistic struggles and the learning disorder look similar from the outside, especially in the first year or two of Italian immersion.

If a child continues to struggle with reading, writing, or mathematics even after a year or two of Italian schooling — and especially if similar difficulties are present in their home language — the school (or you) should request a formal neuropsychological assessment for DSA, not continue indefinitely under BES.

BES is a transitional provision. It is not designed to be permanent for children with underlying conditions. Using it as a long-term substitute for proper diagnosis delays the protections of Law 170 that the child actually needs.

BES vs. Law 104 vs. Law 170

To understand where BES fits in the overall picture:

Law 104/1992 — Physical, cognitive, or sensory disability certified through INPS/ASL. Entitles the child to an insegnante di sostegno and a full PEI. The most intensive level of support.

Law 170/2010 — Specific Learning Disorders (dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dysorthographia) certified by a recognized specialist. Entitles the child to a PDP with compensatory tools and dispensatory measures. No support teacher.

BES (2012 Directive) — Broader umbrella covering situational or temporary difficulties. Activates a temporary, more flexible PDP at the school's discretion, without requiring medical certification for Category 3 cases. Intended as a transitional or supplementary provision, not a permanent solution for children with clinical diagnoses.

Every child with a Law 104 or Law 170 certification is by definition within BES. But BES extends further to children who need temporary support without meeting those clinical thresholds.

Practical Steps for Expat Families

If your child has just arrived and is struggling with Italian, ask the school whether BES accommodations can be activated immediately. This conversation should happen at enrollment, not three months in after your child has received a string of failing marks.

Identify the school's Referente per l'Inclusione — the designated inclusion coordinator — early in the school year. This person is typically the most knowledgeable point of contact for everything related to special educational needs, temporary BES plans, and the connection between school and health authority processes.

If BES is activated and your child's struggles persist after a reasonable period of language immersion, push for a DSA assessment rather than assuming the difficulties are purely linguistic.

And if your child has an existing diagnosis from another country — whether for dyslexia, ADHD, autism, or anything else — bring translated documentation to the school from day one and ask which legal pathway (Law 104, Law 170, or BES) applies to your child's situation.

The Italy Special Education Blueprint covers the full landscape of Italian special education law — from the initial BES framework through DSA certification under Law 170 and full disability support under Law 104 — with practical steps for expat families navigating each pathway.

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