TOKYO -- Some parents in Japan are choosing to send their children to alternative "free schools" that incorporate advanced educational methods such as those from the U.S. and Australia, without ever having them attend a regular elementary school.

Their choice to do so is seen as a violation of compulsory school attendance, since free schools are regarded as places for children who have stopped attending school due to bullying or other reasons. But parents and free school staff argue that the current system denying such moves is out of date.

Free schools do not have a set legal definition in Japan, but in general, the education ministry regards them as "private institutions that provide learning activities, educational counseling, and hands-on activities, etc. for children not attending school." Unlike regular schools that have to provide classes based on curriculum guidelines, free schools offer a wide variety of activities.

Tokyo Community School (TCS) in the capital's Nakano Ward, one such free school, offers small-group education. The school accepts up to nine students in each of its grades, equivalent to the first to sixth grades of elementary school. It focuses on in-depth learning on a single theme and engages in various activities that transcend grade levels. TCS was established in 2004 by Kazuyuki Kubo, 58, a businessman who was impressed by Fitzroy Community School in Melbourne, Australia, an independent, alternative elementary school operated in a different way from regular schools.

Initially three children were enrolled at TCS, but gradually the number of applicants exceeded the facility's set capacity, and now there are 50 children. Of these, 98% have never attended a regular elementary school.

According to Kubo, a change in the mindset of parents has played a part in this. "More and more parents have a sense of crisis that their children cannot express themselves in traditional school education and will be deprived of the desire to learn," he explained. In regular elementary schools, children are required to memorize what the teacher has written on the blackboard and are expected to behave in the same way as other students. Many parents apparently think this is outdated.

However, free schools such as TCS are not considered elementary schools under the School Education Act. Students accordingly need to enroll in a local elementary school and report TCS's attendance records to the school to get an official graduation certificate. However, there have been many cases of trouble over school enrollment.

Move-out after argument with education board

Atsushi Kawai, 46, a company owner in Nakano Ward, gave his daughter Ao, 8, a choice of three schools to attend, including a local public school, two years ago when she was about to enter elementary school. He wanted Ao to receive an education that suited her needs. Ao chose TCS.

However, when Kawai informed the board of education of the ward where he and his family lived at the time that he intended to enroll Ao in TCS, he was told, "That is a place to send children if they stop attending elementary school. There is a possibility it would be a violation of school attendance requirements." Disappointed with the response, Kawai moved to Nakano Ward with his family. With understanding from a local elementary school, Ao technically became enrolled in the school, and without going there even for a day, she has attended TCS.

Ao said, "I enjoy the morning meetings where we can share our thoughts. Going camping is a lot of fun. I don't think I want to go to another school." Kawai commented, "The idea that a child is not allowed to choose any other option than public education unless they develop school refusal is not conducive to the child's well-being. I want a society where children can choose education from a variety of options from the compulsory education stage."

Choosing not to attend an elementary school from the very beginning is sometimes labeled "sekkyokuteki futoko" (proactive school nonattendance), while cases where students stop going to school due to bullying or other reasons that prevent them from attending even though they want to, are simply classified as "futoko" (school nonattendance).

However, Kubo explained, "In many cases it is not a 'proactive' choice but a 'reluctant' one, where parents have no other options. Many parents seek out TCS as they find it difficult for their children to adapt to a regular elementary school due to frequent conflicts with other children in kindergarten or because their child's personality does not fit in with large groups, and so on."

The annual tuition of TCS is approximately 1 million yen (about $6,700). The financial burden on parents is heavy as public support is limited.

Understanding toward proactive nonattendance yet to progress

According to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the number of students who are not attending elementary school reached a record high of 130,370 in academic 2023, increasing for the 11th consecutive year. However, it is unclear how many of these cases involve children going to free schools from the outset, as there are no available statistics on such children.

In response to the rising number of school nonattendance cases, the law for securing educational opportunities, which came into effect in 2017, notes the importance of diverse and appropriate learning activities for nonattending students, and calls on the national and local governments to supply the necessary support. Some local governments provide subsidies for students to attend free schools. Regardless, understanding toward proactive school nonattendance has not progressed.

An official with the education ministry commented, "Free schools have no legal guarantees as to their quality, and it is accordingly difficult to evaluate them as being equivalent to regular schools. In the event of school nonattendance, it is hard to fulfill schooling obligations even when parents want to do so, and so free schools are an option to guarantee learning opportunities. However, choosing this option from the outset in the absence of such circumstances could be a violation of compulsory school attendance rules."

Seeking diverse learning options

GIFT School in Minato Ward, Tokyo, was established in 2021 based on the New School in Syracuse, the United States, which provides a distinctive inclusive education for children of different ages to learn together. About half of the 18 children at the GIFT School have never attended the elementary school in which they are enrolled.

Naoki Tomita, 42, the school's representative, has a 9-year-old daughter who made the same choice but was initially denied enrollment in a public elementary school. After much discussion, his daughter's choice was approved on the condition that both he and his daughter attend an interview at the school. The reality is that the response to such cases is left to the discretion of each municipal education board and local school.

According to Tomita, there are many parents who want their children to go to free schools from the outset instead of putting them in public schools, where they could face difficulties fitting in and end up not going at all.

"It is a strange system to ask children to go to public schools first, and say, 'Why don't we consider other places if it doesn't work out?' It's unreasonable to deny the child diverse learning opportunities until after they have been hurt at a regular school," he said.

He noted, however, that there remains a substantial financial burden on parents turning to alternative education for their children. "The basic premise of compulsory education is to provide equal access, but only those who can afford it are able to send their kids to free schools," he said.

Yuu Numazawa, 25, a graduate of and current staff member at Shonan Sudbury School in Chigasaki, Kanagawa Prefecture, which incorporates educational methods originating in the United States, explained that in cases of "proactive school nonattendance," the child's wishes are confirmed after a trial enrollment at the free school. "It isn't that the parents aren't allowing their child to attend elementary school, but that the child has chosen their school and their parents have agreed to it," she said. "I do not believe that this is a compulsory school attendance violation."

She added, "If in the future we can create a society where children can more freely choose the school they want to attend, the term 'school nonattendance' may even disappear."

(By Yuko Murase, The Mainichi Staff Writer)