Danmarksdemokraterne leader Inger Støjberg wants students at Danish youth education programs to be expelled if they speak any language other than Danish during school hours. Two gymnasium rectors reacted to the proposal on Tuesday.
DR reports that the proposal was discussed on the radio program P1 Morgen on August 18, 2026. Inger Støjberg presented it as one of 15 measures her party will put forward to introduce zero tolerance toward negative social control at gymnasiums.
According to DR, Støjberg said a law is needed and questioned why anyone attending a Danish education should speak Arabic. She confirmed that the rule would also cover English, and that two students speaking English in a canteen during a break should be expelled. She added that Arabic, not English, is the actual problem she is targeting.
Støjberg argues that at a number of gymnasiums, mainly in the larger cities, social control and what she calls a culture of dominance forces norms on young people. As reported by DR, she says some students want a Danish upper secondary diploma and full participation in society, but are held back by stronger students.
Politiken reported in May 2026 that Danmarksdemokraterne want students expelled the first time they speak another language. Per that reporting, Støjberg argues teachers must be able to follow conversations in order to detect negative social control.
Berlingske, which first described the proposal, notes that the party has not yet calculated what it would cost. No detailed legislative text has been published.
Rectors split on a legal requirement
Ida Diemar, rector of Høje Taastrup Gymnasium, backs the idea. The school already has rules stating that only Danish may be spoken, and she describes Danish as the common language behind the school community. She told DR that speaking a language others do not understand is excluding.
Diemar said no student has so far been expelled from Høje Taastrup Gymnasium for breaking the language rule. A teacher first speaks with the student, and repeated violations can lead to tougher measures.
At Frederiksberg Gymnasium, rector Maja Bødtcher-Hansen is more reserved. She also chairs the association Danske Gymnasier, and agrees Danish should be spoken so that everyone can understand each other. She does not see a legal requirement as the right path, and has not written the rule into her own school regulations.
Bødtcher-Hansen said she would call students in for a conversation if problems arose. She would enforce a rule if a group of students speaking another language left others feeling bullied or unsafe. In her view, individual schools should set the framework for good conduct at their education institutions.
Berlingske has previously documented, through access to records from Styrelsen for Undervisning og Kvalitet, cases of negative social control at several gymnasiums in the Copenhagen area.
