The organisation of the academic year in Iceland is as follows:

Municipal councils may authorise third parties to build and operate preschools using the form of a non-profit organisation, a company limited by shares, or any other recognised legal form. The local authority concerned may limit any such authorisation to a certain maximum number of children. Preschools authorised in this manner are governed by the same legislative and regulatory provisions as other preschools and they must be operated pursuant to all framework legislation on preschools.

Upper secondary educational institutions in Iceland have more freedom than the primary and lower secondary schools to provide organisational variations and alternative structures. The framework allowing for those variations and alternative structures is set with the National Curriculum Guide for Upper Secondary Schools, of 2011. Approved independent upper secondary schools may, among others, provide education programmes on an international basis or provide upper secondary education in combination with top-level arts or music or another subject profile.