Abstract
The universal five-year elementary school has existed in Italy since 1877. (163) An extension of the period of compulsory school attendance to eight years was planned in 1923, but was not put into effect. The Constitution of the Italian Republic of January 1, 1948, also stipulates eight years of compulsory schooling, but the conditions for meeting the eight-year schooling requirement were first created with the secondary school law of 1962.