LEGAL SYSTEM
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The teaching of children, young people and adults is regulated by a number of acts, and, with one exception, the general provisions on special education are contained in the ordinary acts applying to the school area in question. The exception is the act on special education for adults, which since 1980 has been the legal basis for compensatory special education for adults with functional difficulties of a physical or psychological nature; there is however also a ministerial order on special educational support in vocational education and training etc. But otherwise there is no special legislation which applies to pupils with special needs. In the ordinary legislation pertaining to the individual levels of education, it is laid down more or less directly that the teaching must be open to all and thus be organised and executed with due consideration of the pupils' different prerequisites and needs, and there may be provisions regarding special considerations in connection with examinations and the like.
In the Folkeskole, where the compulsory education is a decisive element of the legislative basis, it is laid down very precisely and obligingly that all children are obliged and therefore also entitled to complete the Folkeskole or other teaching of a standard which can measure up with that of the Folkeskole. The Act on the Folkeskole thus applies to all children of basic school age as well as children who have not yet started school, if they due to a handicap have needs for special educational assistance. The aims of the school, the number and scope of the subjects, the organisation of the teaching in class levels, evaluation etc. are thus directed equally at well-functioning pupils and at pupils with severe functional disabilities.
The Act on the Folkeskole does however contain supplementary provisions on special rights for certain pupils and on possibilities of deviating from some of the provisions in the act in relation to these pupils. In section 3 of the Act on the Folkeskole, it is laid down that ''Special education and other special educational assistance shall be given to children whose development requires special consideration or support'', and it is directly mentioned that these provisions may contain deviations from the subject-range of the school, the provisions on proficiency assessment and the weekly timetable. It is characteristic of section 3 of the act that there is no indication of any form of objective or categorical delimitation of the group of pupils with special educational needs. The decision as to whether a child's development requires special consideration or support is dependent on a concrete assessment in each individual case, which according to section 12 in the act shall be made upon pedagogical and psychological counselling and upon consultation of the pupil and his/her parents.
The provisions on special education and other special educational assistance of the Act on the Folkeskole are elaborated on and amplified in a number of ministerial orders and circular letters as well as in a number of guidelines on the content and organisation of the teaching. The latter are subject to continuous revision. The regulations governing special education are mainly dealing with the following topics: the pupils, the time of initiating special education and other special educational assistance, the content of the special educational assistance, the different forms of special education, the procedure in relation to referral of pupils to special education and other special educational assistance, special considerations at examinations, transition from school to working life, teacher training etc.
http://eng.uvm.dk/publications/laws/actonthe.htm?menuid=1515
http://eng.uvm.dk/publications/factsheets/fact2.htm?menuid=1515
http://eng.uvm.dk/publications/factsheets/fact9.htm?menuid=1515
http://eng.uvm.dk//education/General/diagram.htm
http://eng.uvm.dk/education/description.htm?menuid=1540
Pre-school Education
The legal provisions governing the one-year pre-school class are laid down in the Act on the Folkeskole. It is among other things laid down that:
• the Folkeskole shall comprise a one-year pre-school class, a nine-year basic school, and a one-year 10th form;
• the municipal council shall be responsible for the establishment of pre-school classes;
• a child shall at the request of the parents be admitted to a pre-school class in the calendar year of his or her 6th birthday, or later;
• the teaching in pre-school classes shall as far as possible be given in the form of play and other developing activities. It shall be endeavoured to familarize the chil-dren with the daily routines of school life;
• for the pre-school class and the 1st and 2nd form levels, an integration of parts of the teaching may be organised. At small schools, the entire teaching at these form levels may be common.
Compulsory School
It must be underlined that in Denmark it is education - and not schooling - that is compulsory. Compulsory education means an obligation to participate in the teaching provided in the Folkeskole or in teaching which is comparable to what is generally required in the Folkeskole.
According to the Danish Constitution, all children of compulsory education age have a right to free education in the Folkeskole. Parents or persons with legal custody of children, who see to it themselves that the children receive instruction, which meets the general requirements set to the teaching in the Folkeskole, are not obliged to enrol their children in the Folkeskole.
Compulsory education commences on 1 August of the calendar year of a child's 7th birthday and terminates on 31 July of the year, in which he or she has received regular instruction for 9 years, not including the pre-school class.
Transition Period
“ Personal counselling and guidance shall contribute to giving the pupil a realisation of his or her own expectations and prerequisites and enable him or her to draw up a personal education and training plan as well as an action plan.” This is one of the aims set out in the Ministry of Education's order regarding educational, vocational and labour market orientation (Order on the Aims of the Teaching in the Subjects and Obligatory Topics of the Folkeskole), section 21: Educational, Vocational and Labour Market Orientation.
This plan will describe the student’s future goals - after compulsory schooling or after the 10th form - as well as the factors needed in order to achieve these goals. The plan is drawn up on the basis of the student’s educational record, which is begun in the 6th form.
The record is prepared by the student in co-operation with the parents and the school and is regularly updated until the student leaves the Folkeskole.
The counsellor is responsible for the student’s preparation of educational plans and records. The counsellor, in co-operation with the class teacher and the other teachers, assists the student in this.
The counselling of students with special needs takes place in co-operation with a school consultant, the so-called curator. Students with special needs – for example students who have received special needs education, students who lack self confidence, motivation or a social network – will be given special attention and support in their choice of work and further education, in the form of special guidance and counselling.
