Compulsory schooling extended to ten years
Published:
The Riksdag has voted in favour of the Government’s proposal to introduce a ten-year compulsory school. According to the proposal, the preschool year will be replaced by a new first year of school. The new year 1 will become part of compulsory school which, as a result, will be extended by one year, and year 10 will be the final year.
Compulsory school for pupils with intellectual disabilities, special schools for pupils with impaired hearing and Sami schools will also be extended with a new first year. This means that compulsory school for pupils with intellectual disabilities will be ten years long, special schools for pupils with impaired hearing eleven years, and Sami school seven years. The new first year will be adapted to the age of the pupils, but apart from this, current regulations on subjects and syllabuses will apply for the different kinds of school.
The proposal means that pupils will have a more coherent and equal compulsory education, at just one kind of school, instead of two. Today, the preschool year is a separate kind of school, which is not included in Sweden’s compulsory schooling.
The proposal involves amendments to the Education Act, but also several other laws. The amendments to the Education Act will come into force on 1 July 2026 and will be applied for the first time to education and other activities carried out after 30 June 2028. Other amendments will come into force on 1 July 2028.