Procedures for accelerated/deferred school
Procedures for accelerated/deferred school start
In accordance with section 2-1 (3) of the Education Act, parents may apply for deferred or earlier school start for their child. For both applications, there must be an expert assessment from the PPT and written consent from the parents. It is not the private schools themselves that make decisions in these cases, but the municipality through the Department of Upbringing, Education and Culture.
Deferred school start
Parents can apply for a deferred school start for their child. This means school starts the year the child turns 7 years old. The child has the right to a deferred school start if, according to an expert assessment by the Educational Psychological Service (PPT), there is doubt that the child has developed sufficiently to start school. In addition, there must be written consent from the parents.
Accelerated school start
Parents can also apply for earlier school start. In order to start school earlier, the child must be 5 years old before 1st April. There must also be an expert assessment from the PPT (Pedagogical Psychological Service), and a written consent from the parents. The parents may request an opinion from other experts as an addition to the PPT’s assessment, however, the parents must pay for this themselves.
Who should make decisions about deferred or earlier school start
Private schools do not have the authority to make decisions about earlier or deferred school start. Applications for this must be directed to Tromsø municipality, at the Department of Upbringing, Education and Culture, which makes the decision in the case.
Application process and documentation
- Parents contact the Educational Psychological Service (PPT) by 1st January for an assessment of whether the child should accelerate or postpone the start of school.
PPT contact information:
Email: ppt@tromso.kommune.no
Phone: 77 79 00 00
Postal address: Tromsø Kommune, PPT, Rådhuset, Postboks 6900, 9299 Tromsø
Office address: Forbundshuset A/S, Storgata 142/148, 9008 Tromsø. The PPT will write an expert assessment by February 25th.
- Parents send the assessment, as well as a reasoned application, to the Department of Upbringing, Education and Culture. The application requires written consent from both parents if both have parental responsibility.
Application and documentation should be sent to:
Tromsø Kommune
Avdeling for oppvekst, utdanning og kultur
Postboks 6900
9299 Tromsø
Proceedings
Private schools do not have the authority to make decisions about earlier or deferred school start. Applications for this must be directed to Tromsø municipality, at the Department of Upbringing, Education and Culture, which makes the decision in the case.
Possibility of appeal
The parents can appeal the decision if they are dissatisfied with the decision. The deadline for this is three weeks from when they received the decision. In the appeal, they must explain what they are dissatisfied with and why they believe that the decision should be changed. The municipality will guide the parents in this.
If the municipality upholds its decision, the case will be sent to the County Governor of Troms for a final decision.
Act relating to Primary and Secondary Education and Training (the Education Act) – Lovdata
