The Nordic countries are in many ways very similar. They are small countries with strong emphasis on compulsory schools, for all children. That is – schools are not seen as having only a meritocratic purpose, but a democratic one as well. During the last 20 years the Nordic school systems have also experienced very similar developments regarding the governing of schools. One main characteristic is that the systems are decentralized with strong focus on municipalities. Democratic education and decentralized systems are thus two important aspects regarding education in the Nordic countries. In this paper we use these two aspects to be able to analyse a third aspect of today’s education: the presence of independent schools. Independent schools are sometimes used synonymous with private schools, although another understanding of the concept is that independent schools are part of the public system, since they are to some extent financed, regulated and controlled by state or municipality actors. In the paper we analyse the independent schools regarding the linking between the official and the private zone. We also analyse them from the democratic aspect. Finally we discuss the implications of the findings for school leaders working in different Nordic contexts.