Earlier this year, about 100 pupils at Saltängen's school in Nacka were told that their school would be closed and that they would be forced to move to Duvnäs school one kilometre away.
Saltängen's school and Duvnäs school are part of the same school unit, Saltsjö-Duvnäs school, and according to the municipality, it was therefore not a question of a regular school closure but an internal change of premises – which the principal can decide on, according to the municipality.
Parents and the political opposition protested, arguing that such a decision should be made by the municipality's politicians. The matter was appealed to the Administrative Court, which now agrees with the critics.
Court: The rector does not have the right to decide on relocation
The Administrative Court considers that Saltängen School and Duvnäs School cannot be considered to constitute one and the same school unit as the distance between the school buildings is too long for them to be considered to belong together in a natural way.
And even if the schools were to be considered to constitute one and the same school unit, the closure of the activities in Saltängen's school is not of such a nature that the principal has the right to decide on it with the support of the provisions of the Education Act, according to the Administrative Court.
"The municipality has not delegated any decision-making power to the Vice-Chancellor in this case. The principal has thus not had any legal support to make the decision to move the students from Saltängen's school to Duvnäs school and to terminate the premises for Saltängen's school in connection with that, says Minnaliisa Lundblad, judge at the Administrative Court in Stockholm, in a press release.
School relocation postponed
Earlier in November, it was decided that the move from Saltängen's school would be postponed until the next autumn term.
SVT Stockholm reached out to the chairman of the municipal board, Mats Gerdau (M), for a comment.
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Hear criticism of the school decision from the political opposition and a parent. Nacka Municipality responds to the criticism. From October 2023. Photo: Tommy Bergman/SVT