A principal at the school in question escaped with a failure to prosecute. The Nordland police district reports this in a press release. The police believe that both the school and the headmaster are responsible for breaches of the Education Act. – The students in question needed facilitation and security in their everyday school life, without this being sufficiently taken care of by the school, says police lawyer Vegard Rosenvinge Lauvdahl. Police attorney Vegard Rosenvinge Lauvdahl. Denies having done anything wrong – The municipality will not accept the fine. The municipality’s lawyer, Frode Lauareid, tells news. – The municipality believes that you have not acted irresponsibly. Thus, the conditions for punishment are not met. The municipality has tried, to the best of its ability, to solve the challenges that have been at the school. Then there is no basis for punishment, he says. news has been in contact with the rector in question. The person does not wish to comment on the case and refers to the municipality’s lawyer. Reported by parents It was in September 2019 that the case was reported to the police. The parents of two students were behind the report. They believed that both the headmaster and the municipality had broken the Education Act. At this point, the State Administrator had already given the municipality a so-called compulsory fine of NOK 453,000. The documents in the case are very numerous and comprehensive. In one of the decisions from the State Administrator, it is stated: “The school does not have the necessary competence, and helps to put the student in situations that may lead to him acting out. Then the school reacts by punishing the student for a situation they have provoked.” And it goes on to say: “It is highly objectionable, as the consequences for the student are very serious”, the decision states. – When the State Administrator imposes a compulsory fine, it is a signal that this is a very serious matter, director of education Guri Adelsten Iversen at the State Administrator in Nordland previously told news. The municipality has so far not paid the compulsory fine. – We have arranged a meeting tomorrow to conclude on that matter. The meeting was arranged before the conclusion in the criminal case came, says Lauareid. The police believe the school has not done enough. The Education Act is clear that all pupils have the right to a safe and good school environment. And the schools have an activity obligation. It must ensure that schools put in place the right measures quickly when a pupil is not feeling safe and well at school. What will the school do? (activity obligation) All pupils have the right to a safe and good school environment that promotes health, well-being and learning. In order to ensure the students this right, the school has an activity obligation according to the Education Act, ยง 9 A-4. The purpose of the activity duty is to ensure that schools act quickly and correctly when a pupil is not feeling safe and well at school. The school’s activity obligation is divided into five sub-obligations. Everyone who works at the school has a duty to monitor, intervene and notify if they suspect or become aware that a pupil does not have a safe and good school environment. The school has a duty to investigate and implement suitable measures to ensure that the pupil has a safe and good school environment. The activity obligation also means that the school must ensure the pupils’ participation. This is done by ensuring that the students involved are heard and that the child’s best interests must be a fundamental consideration in the school’s work. The school must take the child’s best interests into account in all assessments and actions in order to fulfill the activity obligation. (source: Norwegian Directorate of Education) – Although the police see that the school has taken measures to meet the duty of activity, the conclusion is that not enough has been done to investigate the case, or provide measures that ensured the two students a safe and good school environment, says the police attorney. As a result, Rana municipality has received a fine of NOK 100,000. The police believe that the principal of the school in question has not done his job either. – When it comes to the headmaster of the school, he has a particular personal responsibility for the pupils’ school environment according to the Education Act. The police believe the headmaster has not done enough to investigate the case, or to take measures to ensure a safe and good school environment for the two pupils, and thus has also broken the Education Act.
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Rana municipality and the principal are fined for breaching the Education Act – news Nordland
