In 2023, the Municipality of Copenhagen has paid out 240 million Danish kroner in compensation for lost earnings to parents who have had to stay at home with their children. This is a significant increase from the 197 million kroner paid out the previous year, representing an increase of over 20 percent. This increase is primarily attributed to a phenomenon known as school refusal, where children avoid attending school for extended periods and only have contact with their immediate family.
According to the municipality’s social services department, however, not all of the 240 million kroner specifically goes to parents of children with school refusal. Nationally, in 2022, 1.8 billion kroner was spent on compensation for lost earnings, as stated by Minister of Education Mattias Tesfaye (S). The minister acknowledges that challenges with inclusion in public schools may be part of the problem but also emphasizes an ambition to integrate more children with special needs into mainstream public schools rather than sending them to special schools.
“In the public school sector, it is a top priority to make inclusion work,” says Mattias Tesfaye to Berlingske, adding, “It’s not about sending more children to special schools. More should be integrated into mainstream public schools.” A survey from Statistics Denmark shows that the number of individuals receiving compensation for lost earnings has increased by ten percent from 2018 to 2022. The most significant increase was seen in the Capital Region, which includes the Municipality of Copenhagen, where the rise was 16 percent.