Teachers in Danish primary schools say they are being overwhelmed by parents asking for individual accommodations for their children, with some classes containing up to 20 pupils on special agreements. A mother from Hjørring has defended her own arrangement with her daughter’s school.
The account was published on September 24, 2026, by DR. A number of teachers told the broadcaster that a single class can include up to 20 pupils with so-called special agreements. According to the teachers, the individual agreements are rarely a problem in themselves, but the sheer number now affects teaching and the class community.
One parent, Signe Bilstrup from Hjørring, told DR that she has an agreement with the teachers at her daughter’s school. The teachers tell her daughter in advance when something new is going to happen. That includes changes to seating in the classroom, school trips and joint activities for the year group.
Bilstrup said that before the start of the current school year, the teachers sent a photo showing where her daughter would sit. They also told her who she would be sitting next to. If seating is changed without preparation, her daughter will not enter the classroom, Bilstrup told DR.
She said she would not describe the arrangement as a special agreement. In her words it is closer to cooperation with the teachers, who received the request positively. Per Bilstrup, the arrangement makes it easier for her daughter to stay motivated, because she does not arrive with a stomach ache or meet something unforeseen.
Parent says teachers are under pressure
Asked about teachers who say the volume of special agreements has become overwhelming, Bilstrup said she understands that they are under pressure. She said she hopes schools and parents can establish through dialogue what counts as a genuine need and what is only a wish. In her own case, she said, the agreement rests on a real need for her daughter to take part in lessons and the school day.
Bilstrup said requests for accommodations are not necessarily a sign of overprotective parents. She told DR that all parents want their children to have a good school day, and that something suggests more children now need something extra to manage that.
She said she is not an expert on the field, but sees the requests as an expression of a complex situation around children’s wellbeing. Society has developed, the view of children has changed, and so has the way parents parent, she said. She also pointed to living in a world of screens.
According to Bilstrup, parents always approach the school with the best intentions, and the school must then help set a framework for what is possible. In a companion report, DR showed three teachers reacting to examples of accommodation requests sent by parents.
