There are a large number of laws which regulate pre-primary, primary, secondary and further and higher education, such as the Framework Law on Pre-Primary Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2007), the Law on the Agency for Pre-primary, Primary and Secondary Education (2007), the Framework Law on Primary and Secondary Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2003), the Framework Law on Secondary Vocational Education (2008), and the Framework Law on Higher Education in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2007). 

There is legislation which contains articles pertaining to national languages, namely the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the fundamental legal act of this country, used to establish political and legal order. Since there are two entities in Bosnia and Herzegovina – the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republic of Srpska - there are two further constitutions – the Constitution of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Constitution of the Republika Srpska, which also mention national languages, as well as the official script/scripts. There are also official language policies, created in order to promote the learning and teaching of national languages, foreign languages and regional/minority languages such as the the Revised Action Plan of Bosnia and Herzegovina on Roma Educational Needs (published by the Ministry for Human Rights and Refugees). Sign language is officially recognised by state documents which pertain to the official language policies. This matter is under the legislation of the Law on Use of Sign Language in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2009). The deaf have the legal right to use Sign Language in various procedures of any institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina. 

As well as being administratively divided into two entities, namely the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina also contains the Brčko District which does not belong to either of the entities, but it forms a separate administrative unit. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is further divided into ten cantons which are considered federal units within the entity, and enjoy a high level of autonomy. Due to the great complexity within the state structure, there are no coherent approaches to either education or language policies. With that in mind, the current official language situation is diverse. Apart from various differences between the entities, there are also diversities within the cantons as well, since there is a separate Ministry of Education within each canton, with their own laws. Bearing in mind such a broad legal basis, the language politics are not completely harmonised, and it is not unusual for the majority of the population in a certain canton (and the entity of the Republika Srpska) to determine the official language in educational institutions. The curricula are based on one of three national languages but all three national languages are present at all levels of the educational system, from pre-primary to higher education. Students decide which national language their classes will be held in at the beginning of primary school. Textbooks and curricula are adjusted according to this decision. Apart from national languages, each educational level in Bosnia and Herzegovina offers a wide variety of foreign languages. However, there is a lack of harmony here as well. As a result, different foreign languages are offered in schools within the same canton, and throughout different cantons as well. In pre-primary, primary and secondary education there are usually five to six foreign languages offered, such as English, German, French, Italian, Russian or Arabic, depending on which entity or canton the school is in, while institutions for higher education in Bosnia and Herzegovina offer English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Latin, Greek, Russian and Czech.

Throughout Bosnia and Herzegovina there is pre-primary language education with a coherent, integrated approach to language-learning curricula, with special attention paid to plurilingualism in the classroom and multilingualism of society in general. The foreign languages offered in pre-primary education are mostly English, German and French, while immigrant languages are not present at all.

A coherent and explicit curriculum is used to teach national as well as foreign languages throughout primary education. Classes can be held only in national languages with one compulsory foreign language to be chosen from a selection of five to six different languages, including English, German, French, Italian, Russian and Arabic. Some of these are taught as compulsory and some as optional foreign languages. They are offered as part of the curriculum, and the level of proficiency is regularly tested and monitored using standardised instruments, according to the students' age. Immigrant languages are not taught in primary schools.

In secondary education a combination of teaching foreign languages as a subject and teaching all subjects in a foreign language is used, even though the latter method is not commonly used. There are coherent and explicit curricula used to teach national and foreign languages and the level of proficiency is regularly tested and monitored using standardised instruments, according to the students' age. In secondary education two foreign languages are compulsory, with from a selection of six to seven foreign languages, such as English, German, French, Italian, Russian, Turkish and Arabic. Some of these languages are taught as compulsory and some as optional foreign languages. Immigrant languages are not taught in secondary schools.

According to the institutions surveyed by LRE, higher education institutions in Bosnia and Herzegovina offer a wide selection of programmes in national and foreign languages, from basic communication to advanced linguistic skills. Coherent and explicit curricula are set up for learning national as well as foreign languages, and students can choose to study English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Turkish, Arabic, Persian, Latin, Greek, Russian and Czech.

National languages are more or less equally represented across audio-visual media and the printed press, although at the local level, the national majority determines which national language is dominant. There is no systematic evaluation of these languages in the media. As for audio-visual media on state level, there are three main broadcasters: state radio and television (BHRT) and the entity level broadcasters FTV and RTRS. On state television both scripts are used, so that one day a television programme may be broadcast in the Latin script, and the next day in Cyrillic script. 

Apart from national languages, newspapers are also available in English, German, Italian and French. 

Communication between local authorities is held in the national languages, with some use of English and German. Oral and written communication in municipal facilities also takes place in the national languages, except for transportation, tourism, immigration and integration services where communication also takes place in English, German and French.

In the businesses surveyed for LRE the main language for written and oral communication is one of the three national languages (depending on the territory), with some use of the English language. 

According to the dynamics of social and economic development of Bosnia and Herzegovina country, and aiming towards EU membership, state authorities, as well as entity and canton authorities are constantly working on further harmonising and improving the scope of language policies. Based on the previously mentioned facts, and having in mind that this essay gives only a glimpse of the current condition, we might conclude that the seemingly complex multilingual situation in our country does not generally represent a communication barrier in everyday life. Of course, there is much room for improvement, for example, harmonising the laws, as well as raising public awareness on the existence of the three official languages and two scripts, which should be accepted and respected for all their similarities, and minor differences.