Sámi school (Sweden)

Sámi schools, which were referred to as Nomad schools or Lapp schools before 1977, are a type of school in Sweden that runs parallel to the standard primary school system. Sámi schools are part of the Swedish public school system, and as such are governed by the same curriculum that primary schools are. Sámi schools are state-owned educational institutions that are open to all children whose parents claim to be Sámi. Each school has its own dormitory that many students live in for large parts of the academic year due to the long distances in the north of Sweden.

Teaching took place in both Swedish and Sámi, which was also taught separately. The Sámi schools have a small number of students. The schools are located in Karesuando, Lannavaara, Kiruna, Gällivare and Jokkmokk in Norrbotten County and in Tärnaby in Västerbotten County. Grades 1-6 are taught everywhere but Gällivare, where only grades 7-9 are taught. Some municipalities in Lapland do not have their own Sámi school, so they have integrated Sámi teaching at the primary school level and native-language education in Sámi when it can be arranged. The Sami Education Board (Swedish: Sameskolstyrelsen) in Jokkmokk has been responsible for the Sámi schools since 1981. Board members, who are Sámi themselves, are appointed by the Sami Parliament of Sweden.

An ordinance on nomad schools was passed in Sweden in 1913. This type of school ran parallel to the primary school form prevalent at the time called folkskola. While the number of days in the academic year was the same as for the folkskola, the academic year itself was adapted to conform to the everyday life that the Sámi led at the time. During the 1940s and 1950s, the school goahti that were in use were replaced with a western-style dormitory. Up until the 1950s, nomad schools could either be mobile or be in a fixed location. After that decade, however, the mobile versions were discontinued.

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