How to ensure the best interests of children in cases of school closures

Alstad primary school in Bodø municipality was proposed to be closed in 2024, but the decision was considered illegal by the state administrator. Photo: Thoralf Fagertun

Changing school structures is often demanding and controversial. Now, Nordland Research Institute created a guide that can help municipalities and county authorities ensure a legally sound and thorough assessment of the best interests of the child in such processes.

Economic and demographic challenges often lead to proposals to close both primary and secondary schools. In 2024 alone, 80 primary and secondary schools were proposed to close, according to a count from NRK .

In some cases, decisions to close schools or other changes to the school structure are subject to legality review. This is a legal assessment of whether the decision was made in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. If the authorities carrying out the legality review find that errors have been made that make the decision invalid, the decision is revoked. In recent years, this has happened in the municipalities of Bodø, Indre Fosen and Leirfjord.

– In all three of these cases, inadequate assessment of the child's best interests and inadequate investigation of the consequences for the children are the reasons why the decisions were declared illegal, says Lea Louise Videt, researcher at Nordland Research Institute and lead author of the report "Assessments of the best interests of the child in school structural changes - A guide to child rights assessments based on Norwegian legislation, existing guides and legality checks" .

The other authors are Ragnhild Holmen Waldahl, research manager at Nordland Research Institute , and Inger Marie Holm, who is a lawyer and researcher, associated Nordland Research Institute .

– We have prepared a systematic review of legality checks related to decisions on changes to the school structure, something that has probably not been done before, says Videt.

The report provides insight into what is emphasized in current management practices.

– At the same time, we have conducted a review of existing guidelines and legal sources that deal with the best interests of the child principle. Overall, this provides guidance on which procedure can be used to investigate the best interests of the child in cases involving changes in school structure, says Videt.

– The guide was prepared on behalf of Trøndelag County Council, but is relevant for all county councils and municipalities that are facing school closure processes.

Illegal decisions are rare

According to the Local Government Act, a legality review can be initiated if three or more members of the municipal council or county council jointly request a review of whether a decision is legal. The State Administrator handles cases concerning municipal schools, while legality reviews of decisions for upper secondary schools are carried out at the ministry level.

– We have analyzed which considerations are emphasized when a decision is considered legal or illegal, says Videt.

– There is a clear tendency that it takes a lot for a decision to be deemed illegal on the basis of a lack of consideration for the child's best interests, but when that happens, it is because the child's best interests have not been considered or that the assessment has not been documented, she says.

The review shows that an assessment of the best interests of the child is considered good enough when the municipalities have both carried out a formally correct process and documented a real assessment of how the decision affects children.

– If the municipality has given children the opportunity to be heard and made visible how their interests have been assessed, the assessment is often seen as sufficient, even if the child's best interests are not necessarily the decisive consideration in the decision, says Videt. 

All steps must be followed.

Bodø municipality's attempt to include children in the decision-making basis for school closures made national headlines in 2024 and was satirized in the widely watched NRK program Nytt på nytt. The decision was also declared invalid in the legality review conducted by the state administrator. Bodø is one of three municipalities that has suffered such a fate. What characterizes the case processing that precedes an overturned decision?

The report from Nordland Research Institute draws the following conclusions:

• Lack of or absent assessment of the child's best interests: It is not documented how the decision affects children (Will the school journey be longer? Will the class be larger or smaller? Is there a risk of increased dropout, stress or bullying?)

• Consideration for the best interests of the child is not considered a fundamental principle in line with the Constitution and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

• Children and guardians have not been given real participation: Consultations have either not been carried out, have been outdated, or lack documentation that children's or guardians' input has been considered.

• Impact assessments are absent or inadequate: Important topics such as school transport, learning environment, social belonging or psychosocial consequences have not been considered, or only superficially discussed.

• Case processing errors may have affected the outcome: For example, the decision was made without an updated decision basis, lack of documentation, or the municipality did not follow formal procedures.

• No assessment of the relationship between children's interests and other considerations: The decision lacks a visible balance between the interests of children and other considerations such as municipal finances.

– Assessing the best interests of the child in cases of school closure is largely about documentation and correct procedure. There are no shortcuts, all steps must be taken, says Videt.

– A decision may be controversial, but still legal, as long as the child's best interests have been assessed in a visible, verifiable and structured manner. In other words, it is not necessarily the quality of the municipality's assessment of the child's best interests that determines the legality of a decision, but that the procedure and documentation requirements have been followed correctly.