56 million for reading support in schools: what changes in 2026

Key data

Spain faces a measurable reading deficit: 474 points in PISA 2022 compared to the OECD average of 476, and 521 points in PIRLS 2021 compared to the OECD-28 average of 533. To correct this before the European objective of 2030 —reducing to 15% the percentage of students with low reading performance—, the Sectoral Education Conference approved on June 3, 2026 the distribution of €56,211,619 among autonomous communities through the Territorial Cooperation Program for Reading Literacy Reinforcement.

The Resolution from the State Secretariat for Education, published in the BOE on June 20, 2026, formalizes that agreement and activates the credit transfer mechanism provided for in article 86 of the General Budget Law. The allocation to each community will be materialized through specific ministerial resolution.

What does this regulation establish?

The resolution publishes the agreement by which the Sectoral Education Conference approves two key elements: the proposal for territorial distribution of the €56,211,619 and the distribution criteria applied among autonomous communities.

The financial mechanism is articulated through article 86 of the General Budget Law, which allows channeling State credits to the ACs for specific purposes. Prior authorization from the Council of Ministers on May 12, 2026 was the necessary previous step for the Sectoral Conference to approve the distribution.

Key points of the program's operation:

• The funds are managed directly by each autonomous community, not by the Ministry.
• The destination of the funds is specific: strengthening reading literacy in Primary and Secondary Education stages.
• The MEFD will conduct monitoring and control to verify that the funds are used for the intended purpose.
• Formal allocation to each AC will be made through individual ministerial resolution.
• The program is framed within the European objective of reducing to 15% the percentage of students with low reading performance before 2030.

The regulation does not detail the amount assigned to each autonomous community individually in the published text: those details will be specified in the specific ministerial resolutions for each AC.

Economic and operational impact

The €56.2 million represent a direct injection into regional education systems for 2026. Since these are credits managed by the ACs, each education administration will have room to decide how to implement the program: hiring support teachers, reading materials, teacher training or specific intervention programs.

The most relevant operational impact for educational centers is the monitoring and control by the MEFD: autonomous communities will have to prove that the funds have been effectively used for reading support, which implies justification and reporting obligations to the Ministry.

Who does it affect?

• Education Departments of all autonomous communities: they are the recipients and managers of the funds. They must plan their use, execute them in 2026 and justify them to the MEFD.
• Primary and Secondary Education centers: they are the final recipients of the program. Resources will reach them through their respective regional education administrations.
• Primary and Secondary Education teachers: may be affected by new support allocations, materials or training programs linked to the program.
• Students with low reading performance: they are the target group of the program, especially in Primary and Secondary Education stages.
• Publishing houses and educational material suppliers: may benefit from the additional demand for reading resources generated by the program in the ACs.
• Teacher training companies: if the ACs allocate part of the funds to teacher training, this sector can capture tenders.

Practical example

Although the resolution does not break down the amount by autonomous community —that detail will be published in individual ministerial resolutions—, it is possible to size the program with available data.

Spain has 17 autonomous communities. If the distribution were strictly proportional to the number of students (which does not imply that it is, since distribution criteria may weight other factors such as performance level or school population at risk), a medium-sized community would receive around €3.3 million. A large community like Andalusia or Madrid, with greater student weight, could exceed €8-10 million, while small communities could be below one million.

For a Primary Education center with 400 students, the program can translate into additional resources for: hiring reading support teachers, acquiring classroom libraries, subscriptions to digital reading platforms or specific training for the teaching staff. The specifics will depend on how each Education Department implements the funds received.

What should schools and administrations do now?

1. Education Departments: be alert to the individual ministerial resolution that will formalize the allocation to your autonomous community. That document will activate the deadline and execution conditions.
2. School management teams: contact your regional Education Department to find out how the program will be implemented in your territory: calls for proposals, criteria for selecting beneficiary centers and deadlines.
3. Teachers and pedagogical coordinators: review your center's results in reading literacy tests to identify specific needs and be in a position to justify the demand for resources.
4. Material and training suppliers: monitor the tenders and calls that the ACs will publish to execute the funds during 2026.
5. All parties: keep in mind that the MEFD will monitor and control the destination of the funds, so traceability of spending will be a compliance requirement for regional administrations.

Official source

Consult complete regulation in official source (BOE-A-2026-13441)

Notice: This article is purely informational in nature and does not constitute legal advice. For specific decisions, consult a qualified professional. Source: https://www.boe.es/diario_boe/txt.php?id=BOE-A-2026-13441