The relevance of the article is that in today’s world of changes, there is a realization that in all spheres of public life, the achievements of science and culture, the new needs in the modernization of the education system of Ukraine. One of the possible ways of further development of this sphere is not only education reforms, but also innovations, i.e. controlled processes of emergence, perception, evaluation, development and application of innovations. The purpose of the article is to identify legislative innovations in the reform of education in Ukraine, innovative types of educational institutions in accordance with the reform, defining the essence of education reforms and innovations and features of the reform of the system of university education. It is possible to distinguish between reforms at the national and interagency (i.e., only within the education system) level, but any interstate reform is always coordinated with the highest state leadership and is accompanied by reforms in other spheres. Legislative innovations in reforming education in Ukraine are also introduced through pedagogical innovations - those innovations that are developed and implemented by state agencies and organizations of education and science. The article identifies innovative types of educational institutions in Ukraine in accordance with the reform, the innovative processes in the education system are studied; the essence of education reforms and innovations and peculiarities of the reform of the basic and university education system of Ukraine are defined.