According to the provisions of the Law of National Education (Law 1/2011), Art. 59, educational alternatives may be initiated and organized in the pre-university education system, with the approval of the Ministry of National Education, based on regulations approved by Minister’s Order.

The place and the role of the educational alternatives in the educational system in Romania, as well as the legal and institutional framework necessary for the promotion and development of the Romanian educational pluralism, are established by OMECTS no. 5571/2011 on the Regulation on the organization and functioning of the alternative pre-university education.

The National Commission for Educational Alternatives  

(N.C.E.A) is a consultative body without legal personality that supports the ministry and the institutions subordinated to it in exercising its prerogatives in the field of state and private alter- native pre-university education. N.C.E.A. stimulates educational pluralism through collaboration with non-governmental organizations that manage the development of educational alternatives.

The accreditation and periodic evaluation of the educational alternatives are made in compliance with the law. Alternative pre-university educational institutions have organizational and functional autonomy, according to the specific alternative.

Any Romanian citizen may enrol in all forms of alternative education in the Romanian language, worldwide spoken languages or national minority languages.

The teaching staff who teaches alternative education groups or classes has the right to the recognition on the part of the ministry of education, research, youth and sports of their preparation and specializations carried out by the organizations, associations and federations who administer the development of the respective alternative at national level.

The main educational alternatives in primary education are:

1.    Freinet

2.    Montessori

3.    Curative pedagogy

4.    The Jena Plan

5.    Step by step

6.    Waldorf

The website of the National Commission for Educational Alternatives contains detailed information on the specifics of each educational alternative, the description of applied pedagogies, the organizing institutions, useful documents.