In 1989 a change of political system took place in Poland. The result of this was a radical change in the education system. During the reform a new type of obligatory school was introduced – the gymnasium (gimnazjum) – and the organisation of primary and secondary schools was changed fundamentally. The year 1989 also marked the beginning of the opportunity to organise private schooling, which resulted in the setting up of a number of private schools. On the basis of an exegesis of legal acts, projects of parliamentary acts, as well as reports of curators of education, the author presents the evolution of the education system in Poland from 1989 to the projects of education system reform that are currently discussed in the parliament.