Abstract
The issue of school non-attendance, a significant public concern, calls for a reevaluation of perceptions of children and the role of schools. Nagano Prefecture became the first in Japan to implement the “Shinshu Free School Certification System,” establishing a framework to provide diverse learning opportunities. This system aims to guarantee the learning rights of non-attending children by categorizing free schools into “support for belonging” and “support for learning” types while offering financial and operational support. Key operational challenges include the lack of standards for recognizing off-campus learning as attendance and for evaluating such learning, as well as the need to strengthen collaboration between schools, local governments, and free schools. Continuous improvements to the system are made based on feedback from stakeholders, with a focus on promoting multi-agency cooperation and enhancing support systems in the future. Keywords: school non-attendance, Shinshu-type Free School Certification System, guaranteeing the right to learn, belonging support type/learning support type, multi-agency cooperation
