Updated: 23 September 2026 la 13:20. Articolul a fost revizuit pentru a reflecta informațiile disponibile la această dată.
An elective should no longer be the subject that appears on the timetable after every other decision has been made. Order of the Ministry of Education and Research No. 3,454 of 16 March 2026 introduced the methodologies for the student-choice curriculum from the school offer, abbreviated CDEOȘ. For year groups progressively moving under the new framework plans, including Year 9 in the 2026–2027 school year, the basic rule is straightforward: the school develops the offer, but must base it on consultation with students and parents and then take account of the options they express.
For more information on the curriculum, see Alternative upper-secondary framework plans: a map of the 32 pilot schools and the real differences between the models, which provides complementary details on this topic.
In practice, choice is not unlimited. A school must be able to run the course with teachers, rooms, a budget and student numbers that comply with the rules. The important difference is that these constraints must be explained before choices are made, rather than invoked after students have completed their forms. Order No. 3,454/2026 is listed by the Ministry of Education and Research, and the methodology sets out the path from needs analysis to course monitoring.
CDEOȘ does not mean students invent the subject; they choose from a substantiated offer
CDEOȘ has replaced the older school-choice curriculum model for the new cohorts covered by the framework plans. Students choose from the subjects or fields proposed by the school, and the school does not, at least on paper, start with a teacher’s availability but with an annual needs analysis.
For primary, lower-secondary, and theoretical or vocational upper-secondary schools, the methodology provides for three types of electives:
- advanced-study elective — additional activities for consolidation, high achievement or catch-up work in a subject already studied;
- elective as a new subject — introduces skills distinct from those in the common core and has its own syllabus;
- integrated elective — links a topic to one or more curriculum areas, such as media education, argumentation and communication, the environment, or scientific exploration.
The distinction matters. A course with an appealing name is not automatically a new subject: if it is, the school must have its own syllabus, including competences, content, activities and assessment. For advanced study, a separate syllabus is not required, but there must be a justification based on the class’s needs and clearly defined additional activities.
Who decides, and in what order
The methodology neither transfers the decision entirely to students nor allows the school simply to announce what it has chosen. The process has several stages, and each can be checked.
- The curriculum committee analyses needs. The analysis must be conducted annually and must include students’ interests, consultation with parents, the school’s resources, the local socioeconomic and cultural context, and the results of the previous year’s electives.
- Teachers propose the courses. They may propose subjects developed at the school, courses from the national offer, or topics developed with universities, NGOs, public institutions or other partners. The teacher must have the necessary training; for topics complementary to their specialism, the methodology requires proof of appropriate training by the start of the course.
- The offer is presented to students and parents. The curriculum committee coordinates this stage. It may be presented on the website, at meetings, by email or through an “electives fair”.
- Students and parents complete the options form. For students under 14, it is signed by the parent or legal representative. Once students have turned 14, they sign the form, while the parent signs to acknowledge it.
- The teaching council and board of administration finalise the list. The options are compiled, discussed by the teaching council and approved by the board of administration. The school inspectorate endorses the offer under the conditions set out in the methodology.
One useful detail: for classes with a CDEOȘ hourly range, students and parents are also consulted on the number of elective hours. The methodology specifies a simple majority — half plus one — at class level, following counselling.
What students should know before choosing
The school must allow time between publishing the offer and making the choice: the methodology gives 5–10 working days as a benchmark. The presentation material should be easy to understand and explain the type of course, the number of places or students for which it is offered, the selection method, any tie-break criteria, and the impact on the timetable.
This is the minimum threshold. To make the choice meaningful, a student or parent can use the following checklist.
| Question to ask | What the answer shows |
|---|---|
| What will I actually be able to do at the end of the course? | Whether the elective has learning outcomes, rather than just a broad title. |
| Is it advanced study, a new subject or an integrated elective? | Whether the school must present its own syllabus or an advanced-study annex. |
| Who teaches it, and what training do they have in the topic? | Whether there is genuine teaching expertise, especially for new topics. |
| How many hours does it involve, how long does it run, and how does it affect the timetable? | Whether the choice is compatible with the student’s time and the school’s organisation. |
| What happens if too many students choose the course? | Whether tie-break rules are announced in advance rather than improvised later. |
| Can it be organised in groups or with students from other classes? | Whether the school is seeking solutions to respect preferences, within budgetary and regulatory limits. |
| Are there laboratories, equipment, a partner or practical activities? | Whether the course promise has the resources needed to become a learning experience. |
| How will students be assessed, and how will the course itself be evaluated? | Whether the school tracks students’ progress and satisfaction, rather than merely their presence in the gradebook. |
Groups, timetable blocks and co-teaching: possible flexibility, not a guarantee
The methodology allows some electives to be organised by class or in groups, including by regrouping students from the same year or from different years. A group must have at least eight students. The school may also consider a shared CDEOȘ timetable block, specifically so that students from different classes can take the same option.
These arrangements matter when a subject is requested by students in several classes but by too few students in any single class. They do not, however, remove the requirement to stay within the budget or the obligations relating to class-group structures.
Co-teaching is also possible: two teachers may jointly propose an elective, especially an integrated one. Simultaneous co-teaching is nevertheless limited to two teachers, no more than 25% of the course hours, and a full student group; one teacher remains the responsible lead teacher. External partners may participate, but they do not replace the school’s responsible teacher.
Why the case of an offer published in Buzău matters
The first application of the new rules has already highlighted the tension between individual choice and realistic organisation. B.P. Hasdeu National College in Buzău published a CDEOȘ offer for Year 9 in the 2026–2027 school year, with subjects in areas including sciences, modern languages, computer science and social sciences. The list posted by the college includes, among other topics, artificial intelligence, data visualisation, debate and rhetoric, digital education and media skills, and practical laboratory chemistry.
In a response reported by Edupedu, the college said that the 224 students concerned had chosen from an offer of 21 titles, but also presented a fallback version for cases where individual choices could not be implemented because of budget, groups, timetable or space constraints. The publication questioned whether restricted lists were compatible with the spirit of choosing from the full offer; at the time of its report, it said it had also requested a position from the Ministry of Education.
The case does not in itself prove that any particular procedure is unlawful. It does, however, show what needs to be checked at every school: were all available options presented, were the constraints and criteria explained from the outset, and does the final list respect the order of choices as far as possible? The methodology requires the teaching council to take account of the number and order of options, the possibility of regrouping students, and the minimum number of students, subject to the budget.
Theoretical and vocational tracks: choice starts with students; in technological education, the partnership must be visible
In theoretical and vocational tracks, the needs analysis directly includes students and parents, and the offer may include new subjects, advanced-study courses and integrated courses. For entry-year classes — including Year 9 — teachers initially propose courses based on previous experience and their impact on learning, since newly admitted students have not yet gone through the upper-secondary school’s internal consultation process.
In the technological track, the logic is different. CDEOȘ is designed in partnership with economic operators or local authorities to adapt training to labour-market needs. This does not justify an opaque list of subjects said to be “useful for employment”. On the contrary, the school must be able to demonstrate the identified local or regional need, the intended learning outcomes, the material resources and the partner involved.
A credible technological elective states, for example, which professional or transferable competence it complements, where it is practised and who validates its relevance to the qualification. In the case of pilot technological upper-secondary schools, including Alexandru Ioan Cuza Technological High School in Buzău, the alternative framework plans explicitly provide CDEOȘ hour allocations in several areas, making it even more important to publish the rationale for their allocation. For context, InfoBuz separately explained what changes at Alexandru Ioan Cuza High School in Buzău under the pilot framework plans.
A good elective must also be checked after it starts
The methodology does not end with the choice form. The curriculum committee must manage an electronic database of approved and implemented electives, and the school must analyse their quality and effectiveness annually. Evaluation may use learning outcomes, classroom observations, questionnaires and the views of students, parents or, where relevant, partners.
For a student or parent council, the reasonable request is not “keep every chosen course at all costs”. It is more specific: publish a summary of the needs analysis, the full offer, the selection and tie-break rules, and the conclusions of the end-of-year evaluation. That is where it becomes clear whether an elective produced skills and genuine interest, or was merely an administrative solution for a slot on the timetable.
In a system that promises greater curriculum autonomy, transparency is the minimum condition for trust. Students should not be expected to decide the school’s budget or timetable on their own, but they are entitled to know what they are choosing, why that course exists and under what conditions their choice can be respected.
Frequently asked questions
Who signs the CDEOȘ options form?
For students who have not turned 14, the form is completed and signed by the parent or legal representative. After the age of 14, the student signs the form and the parent signs to acknowledge it.
Can a school decide not to run an elective chosen by students?
Yes. Final organisation must comply with the minimum number of students, the budget, the timetable and available resources. However, the methodology requires the school to compile the options, take account of their order and consider solutions such as groups or shared timetable blocks.
How many days must there be between presenting the offer and making a choice?
The methodology indicates that, as a benchmark, a period of at least 5–10 working days should be set aside between displaying and communicating the offer and the start of selection.
Can students from different classes study the same elective?
Yes. The school may organise electives in groups and may regroup students from different classes or even different years of study, provided it has the organisational capacity, complies with rules on student numbers and stays within its budget.
What is different about CDEOȘ in technological upper-secondary school?
In the technological track, CDEOȘ is developed in partnership with economic operators or local authorities and must relate to the vocational qualification, training standards and labour-market needs.
Sources consulted
- Ministry of Education and Research — Legislation: Order No. 3,454 of 16 March 2026 on CDEOȘ
- Ministry of Education and Research — Draft CDEOȘ methodology, annexes for theoretical, vocational and technological tracks
- Ministry of Education and Research — Upper-secondary framework plans, including the CDEOȘ section
- B.P. Hasdeu National College, Buzău — CDEOȘ offer for Year 9, 2026–2027
- Edupedu — B.P. Hasdeu College’s explanation of the choice of CDEOȘ electives
