year is pre-school, referred to as kindergarten class or 0th form. An additional non-compulsory 10th form is offered at many schools. Children who are to live in Denmark for a minimum of 6 months are subject to the regulations on compulsory education. Compulsory education means an obligation to participate in the teaching of the folkeskole or in a teaching which is comparable to what is usually required in the folkeskole. Compulsory education commences on 1 August of the calendar year of the child's 6th birthday, and it terminates on 31 July, when the child has received regular instruction for 10 years. At the request of the parents or with their consent, a child's education may be postponed to one year after the normal commencement of compulsory education, when such a step is justified by the child's development. A child may also — at the request of their parents, and if they are considered able to follow the instruction — be admitted before their 6th birthday. Private schools As of 2013, Private, or free elementary, schools cater to 15.6% of students in 2004/05 of basic school age., having risen from 12.9% of students in 2004/05. In the spring of 1991, the Danish Parliament adopted a new private school act, which introduced a new public grant system for private schools giving them a grant towards the operational expenditures per pupil per year, which in principle matches the corresponding public expenditures in the municipal schools - less the fees paid by the parents of the pupils in the private schools. In 1999, the average grant towards the operational expenditures per pupil per year amounted to DKK 34,134 (US$5,500) and the average fees paid by the parents amounted to DKK 6,942 (US$1,100). Private schools can be roughly divided into the following categories: Small "Grundtvigian" independent schools in rural districts. Religious or congregational schools, such as Catholic, Inner Mission, or Muslim schools Progressive free schools International Schools such as Copenhagen International School Schools with a particular pedagogical objective, such as the Waldorf schools German minority schools Private schools are recognised and receive government financing regardless of the ideological, religious, political, or ethnic motivation behind their establishment. Some private schools are very old, some quite new, and new ones are added all the time. It is characteristic of the private schools that they are smaller than municipal schools. All that is demanded of private schools is