Within the next few weeks, however access the electronic register scholastic will be useful digital identity, throughSPID or CIE: this is what is established by DDL Simplifications (Law 182/2025), which in article 51 introduces the obligation to access online registers via the public system for the digital identity of citizens and businesses (SPID, now also paid with Italian Post Office) or the electronic identity card (CIE).
The legislation does not specify exactly when this innovation will come into force: in any case, the transition should be complete for all schools in Italy within a few weeks. With the new rules, among other things, the students of middle schools will lose independent access to electronic registers: only parents (or guardians) will be able to connect to the virtual platform used by schools to manage grades, absences and communications.
This is an important change, which concerns approx 7.7 million students in Italy ei 15 million parents, created with the aim of strengthening the security of digital school portals.
What changes and who can access the electronic register
The first big change, therefore, concerns the credentials of access to the electronic register, up to this moment provided directly from schools. Within the next few weeks, the credentials they will no longer be valid and the only way to access the electronic register will be throughdigital identitywhether via SPID (Public Digital Identity System) or CIE (Electronic Identity Card).
This is an important turning point, considering that the electronic register is used by families and students to consult homework, the test calendar and access any other official communication: in short, it is the direct channel between parents, teachers and schools.
But there is aother great news: the students of first cycle of education they will no longer be able to access independently to the register, but the digital identity of the parents or who exercises parental responsibility. This includes not only primary school pupils, but also boys and girls in lower secondary schools, i.e middle schoolsand, which in Italy are part of the first cycle of education.
In short, the students until the eighth grade they will no longer be able to consult freely homework, grades, absences or other official communications, but they will necessarily have to do so via their parents’ digital identity. The high school students (i.e. upper secondary school) will instead be able to access in first person with your digital identity.
The question of costs
As mentioned, the objective of the State is to simplify procedures and, above all, make access to the electronic school record more secure. However, the initiative immediately received criticism for the potential costs for families and, above all, for the timing.
In fact, in recent months, several providers have introduced a fee for digital identity, effectively making it Paid SPID: the last one was Poste Italiane, which manages around 28.7 million Italian users, which from January 2026 activated a mandatory fee of 6 euros per year. However, the free alternative remains the same Electronic Identity Card (CIE)which however requires a further step to be able to activate the digital identity connected to it.
At the same time, the legislation is not entirely clear on actual timing of this transition: institutions are not obliged to contact parents individually about this change, with the risk of having to rush to activate SPID or CIE and not lose access to the electronic register, essential for school communications, grades and any notes. In the first period, therefore, there is a risk that the procedures are not simplified at all for Italian families.
