It was last autumn that the family went to Thailand for a longer period. The parents applied for leave for the children who attend primary school in Sollentuna municipality. They planned to have their children complete compulsory schooling at a school abroad, but the education board rejected their application on the grounds that there were no special reasons.
The decision was appealed to the administrative court, which followed the education board’s line. Despite this, the family traveled anyway and the education board claims that “the parents strategically chose to refrain” from compulsory schooling.
Tried to reach the parents
During the period the family was in Thailand, the Education Office made repeated attempts to reach the parents and to have them return with the children. Because the family did not return, the parents have therefore been sentenced to a fine of tens of thousands of kroner.
Decisions like these are rare, but a similar case happened recently, according to Mitt i.
– We made a similar decision a year and a half ago. Compulsory schooling is extremely important, and guardians usually take responsibility, says the chairman of the board of education, Soley Aksöz Lithborn (M), to the newspaper.
Became more common
In connection with remote work becoming more common, cases where families want to live abroad for a period have also increased. This could lead to the development of a new, more flexible school law, says Mikael Hellstadius, school law expert and assistant professor of public law at Stockholm University.
– From a political point of view, it was about wanting to limit the possibility for guardians to teach their children at home. This type of situation, with parents going abroad for short-term employment, was not something that was thought of at the time or included in the preparatory work, says Mikael Hellstadius, to Mitt i.
Compulsory schooling and leave
• Children who are registered in Sweden have compulsory schooling.
• If a child stays abroad for a longer period of time, however, compulsory schooling ends, even if the child is registered in the country. It is the home municipality that decides whether a stay abroad is to be considered permanent or not.
• The principal decides on holidays in addition to the statutory ones. If it concerns a leave of less than ten days, the principal can delegate the right to decide to, for example, a teacher.
• Extraordinary, i.e. very strong, reasons are required for leave for ten days or longer. A decision on leave must be based on an overall assessment of the student’s situation.
Source: Swedish National Agency for Education