Preventing and reducing school absenteeism
Act amending section 26 of the Basic Education Act
Schools will have to prevent pupil absences and intervene in them systematically rather than merely monitoring them. The reform aims to reduce school absenteeism and support pupils' schooling and wellbeing.
- Status
- Passed
- Submitted
- 19 Sep 2022
- Latest event
- 9 Nov 2022
- Votes
- 0
- Speeches
- 5
- Confirmed
- 25 Nov 2022
- Statute
- 947/2022
- Source
- eduskunta.fi ↗
What is proposed
The Basic Education Act will be amended to expand the obligations of education providers: in addition to monitoring absences and notifying guardians, education providers will have to prevent absences and intervene in them systematically.
What it means
The amendment will enter into force on 1 August 2023 and applies to comprehensive schools, pupils and municipalities. Municipalities will be reimbursed for the expanded duty via central government transfers with 3.3 million euros in 2023 and 8.0 million euros from 2024 onwards. The measures will specifically support children and young people at risk of absence (estimated at around 7,700 pupils in grades 5–9) and prevent early school leaving.
How Parliament voted
The bill passed without a vote – no MP proposed rejecting or amending it in plenary.
Debate in the chamber
What was argued and where each group stood, followed by MPs' speeches verbatim from the parliamentary record. Speeches are shown in their original language.
5 speeches · 2 speakers · 1 debate
Key points of the debate
The debate addressed the obligation of schools to prevent pupil absences and intervene in them systematically. The objectives of the proposal were considered very important for supporting the wellbeing of children and young people and preventing social exclusion. The debate was completely unanimous, and the bill was supported across government and opposition lines.
- Social DemocratsIn favour
The group considers the reform important, as preventing problems and seamless cooperation between service chains help ensure timely support for children and young people.
”Käsiteltävä uudistus on tärkeä, sillä ongelmien onnistunut ennaltaehkäiseminen on yksilön ja yhteiskunnan kannalta paras mahdollinen lopputulos.”
— Merja Mäkisalo-Ropponen - National Coalition PartyIn favour
The group supports the proposal to prevent absences and emphasises ensuring peace to work for teachers as well as prompt multiprofessional assistance in the daily life of schools.
”Valiokunta kannattaa hallituksen esitystä säätää perusopetuksen järjestäjälle velvollisuus ennaltaehkäistä oppilaiden poissaoloja opetuksesta ja puuttua niihin suunnitelmallisesti.”
— Paula Risikko
This digest was generated by AI from 5 speeches 13 Sep 2026. Group positions are read from the speeches, not from votes; quotations were checked verbatim against the record.
Yleiskeskustelu päättyi. Eduskunta hyväksyi hallituksen esitykseen HE 162/2022 vp sisältyvän lakiehdotuksen sisällön mietinnön mukaisena. Lakiehdotuksen ensimmäinen käsittely päättyi.
Stages of consideration
The bill's path from the preliminary debate to the decision, as recorded by Parliament.
- 19 Sep 2022Eduskuntakäsittelyn vireilletulo · Opetus- ja kulttuuriministeriö
- 20 Sep 2022Lähetekeskustelu · Täysistunto
- 20 Oct 2022Valiokunnan mietintö tai lausunto · sivistysvaliokunta
- 25 Oct 2022Ensimmäinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 28 Oct 2022Toinen käsittely · Täysistunto
- 7 Nov 2022Eduskunnan vastaus ja kirjelmä
Decisions by law proposal1
- 1Laki perusopetuslain 26 §:n muuttamisestaHyväksytty · 947/2022 · 25 Nov 2022
Proposed law text
The law proposals in the bill as the Government presented them. The final act may differ after committee consideration.
The law text is shown in Finnish or Swedish from Parliament's official documents; it is not translated into English.
Laki perusopetuslain 26 §:n muuttamisesta
Eduskunnan päätöksen mukaisesti muutetaan perusopetuslain (628/1998) 26 §:n 2 momentti, sellaisena kuin se on laissa 1216/2020, seuraavasti:
26 §Perusopetuksen suorittaminen
Opetuksen järjestäjän tulee ennaltaehkäistä perusopetukseen osallistuvan oppilaan poissaoloja sekä seurata ja puuttua niihin suunnitelmallisesti. Opetuksen järjestäjän tulee ilmoittaa luvattomista poissaoloista oppilaan huoltajalle tai muulle lailliselle edustajalle.
§
Tämä laki tulee voimaan päivänä kuuta 20 .
Main content of the bill (official)
The summary and title were produced with AI on 13 Sep 2026. They are not official documents – check the details in the original bill. The title and summaries are machine translations of the Finnish AI summaries. Speeches and quotations are always shown in their original language.