A democratic school is a school run after democratic principles with full and equal participation from both students and staff. Free schools usually apply the principles of Humanistic education and democratic governance.
Well known successful examples are the Sudbury Valley School and the smaller, inner-city Albany Free School in upstate NY.
The first democratic school, the Summerhill School in England, was founded in 1921.
Today there are at least 70 democratic schools around the world, in countries such us Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, Israel, Japan, New Zealand Russia, South Africa, The Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States.
Since 1993 there is an International Democratic Education Conference (IDEC), held in a different country each year.