Denmark plans to allow teachers to use physical force to manage disruptive classrooms starting in August 2027, nearly six decades after the country banned corporal punishment in schools in 1967. The reform, introduced by the center‑left government in Copenhagen on October 8, 2026, represents one of the most controversial changes to Danish education policy in recent years.
This image depicts the Danish Prime Minister who announced the reform allowing limited physical force in schools from August 2027.
Under existing legislation, Danish teachers may only use physical force when a student poses an immediate danger to themselves, others, or school property. The proposed law expands these circumstances to include situations where a student 'harasses or insults others' or 'significantly' disrupts lessons, according to the teachers' union Danmarks Lærerforening, which has long argued that current restrictions make it increasingly difficult to maintain order when students refuse to leave classrooms or remain quiet when asked.
Specifically, teachers would be permitted to 'hold a student, keep them in place, or take them to another room against their will' when faced with such disruptions. The legislation provides concrete examples: a student who throws food during home economics class and refuses to leave despite repeated warnings, or a student who listens to loud music on their phone and declines to turn it off or surrender the device when instructed. The supplied source does not detail opposition, implementation plans, or expected outcomes.