The political and economic transformation in Central and Eastern Europe requires that each person should be prepared to function in modern society. One way to prepare a person to cope with the modern world is to get a proper education. It can be done through the participation of individuals in the school system. The political and economic changes in Poland forced the reform of the education system. One of the main principles of educational reform after 1989, was the decentralization which means the transfer of responsibility for schools to local government units. One of the main motto of this reform was the idea of equalizing educational opportunities for children and youth. One of the local government’s responsibilities was to take care of this equalizing educational opportunities. It is commonly said that children from rural areas have fewer educational opportunities than their peers from schools located in cities. The educational barriers encountered by students of schools located in a rural area are the reason for such situation. The causes of unequal educational opportunities can be divided into two main groups: the educational system obstacles and the environmental barriers. The subject of this research will analyse the current school system in Poland especially located in rural area and see what kind of changes can be observed there after mentioned reform. In addition, we will examine the barriers encountered by participants of the educational system in rural environment. The aim of this publication is to determine whether and to what extent the barriers cause that children and young people in rural areas are less prepared to become full-fledged members of modern society.