{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}} {{short description|Statutory regulation in Germany}} {{Cleanup|reason=Strange symbols in text|date=November 2020}} thumb|Royal decree introducing compulsory schooling in Prussia, 1717 thumb|Participation in school trips is also compulsory for school-aged children in Germany.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=Die Schulpflicht {{!}} Minilex|url=https://www.minilex.de/a/die-schulpflicht|access-date=2020-11-02|website=www.minilex.de}}</ref> The ('''Allgemeine''') '''Schulpflicht''' (English: (''General'') ''Compulsory Schooling'') is a statutory regulation in Germany that obliges children and adolescents up to a certain age (which is 18 in all federal states<ref>{{Cite web |last=GmbH |first=Süddeutsche Zeitung |title=Schulpflicht |url=https://bildung.sueddeutsche.de/schulen-und-internate/schulpflicht/ |access-date=2023-09-21 |website=SZ Bildungsmarkt |language=de-DE}}</ref>) to attend a school. The Schulpflicht includes not only regular and punctual school attendance, but also participation in lessons and other school events, as well as doing homework.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Bildung|first=Bundeszentrale für politische|title=Schulpflicht {{!}} bpb|url=https://m.bpb.de/nachschlagen/lexika/recht-a-z/22855/schulpflicht|access-date=2020-11-05|website=bpb.de|language=de|archive-date=2020-10-20|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201020181717/https://m.bpb.de/nachschlagen/lexika/recht-a-z/22855/schulpflicht|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Simple laws, the so-called ''Schulgesetze'' (Sc''hool Laws''), regulate the implementation. The police are often used in this process.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|title=Wegen Schulschwänzerei: 15-Jähriges Mädchen stürzt in Halle-Neustadt in den Tod – Du bist Halle|url=https://dubisthalle.de/15-jaehriges-maedchen-stuerzt-in-halle-neustadt-in-den-tod|access-date=2020-11-04|language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Erzwingung des Schulbesuchs durch die bayerische Polizei: Freiheit oder Schulpflicht|url=https://ef-magazin.de/2018/05/30/12882-erzwingung-des-schulbesuchs-durch-die-bayerische-polizei-freiheit-oder-schulpflicht|access-date=2020-11-04|website=eigentümlich frei|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2016-06-09|title=Rechtsprobleme an der Schule und im Unterricht {{!}} Smartlaw-Rechtstipps|url=https://www.smartlaw.de/rechtstipps/familie-vorsorge/rechtsprobleme-an-der-schule-und-im-unterricht|access-date=2020-11-04|website=Smartlaw|language=de}}</ref> Children whose parents refuse to have them vaccinated must also go to school.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Schulpflicht geht vor Infektionsschutz|url=https://www.donaukurier.de/nachrichten/bayern/Schulpflicht-geht-vor-Infektionsschutz;art155371,4513257|access-date=2020-11-04|website=donaukurier.de|language=de|archive-date=6 April 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200406200126/https://www.donaukurier.de/nachrichten/bayern/Schulpflicht-geht-vor-Infektionsschutz;art155371,4513257|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The German courts have generally interpreted the law as dictating that all school-aged kids in Germany must attend school until their 18th birthday, and that any unreasonable absence from lessons under the age of 18 is a crime. It is considered one of the very few compulsory school attendance laws in a developed, non-dictatorial country,<ref name=":11">{{Cite news|last=Hank|first=Rainer|date=2007-11-09|title=Warum ist die staatliche Schulpflicht unnötig?|url=https://m.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/wirtschaftswissen/erklaer-mir-die-welt-73-warum-ist-die-staatliche-schulpflicht-unnoetig-1490261.html|access-date=2020-11-07|newspaper=Faz.net|language=de}}</ref> since most democracies have compulsory education laws instead, meaning that education may also take place independent from school, as recorded in the article ''Homeschooling international status and statistics''. Its justification, supposed benefits and motivations are disputed and controversially discussed.
== History == {{expand section|date=November 2020}} thumb|Reichsschulpflichtgesetz from July 6, 1938 In 1919, the Weimar Constitution stipulated the Schulpflicht for all of Germany,<ref>{{Cite web|title=documentArchiv.de - Verfassung des Deutschen Reichs ["Weimarer Reichsverfassung"] (11.08.1919)|url=http://www.documentarchiv.de/wr/wrv.html#VIERTER_ABSCHNITT02|access-date=2020-11-02|website=www.documentarchiv.de}}</ref> from 1938 to 1945 the Schulpflicht im Deutschen Reich (Compulsory Schooling in the German Empire), abbreviated as the ''Reichsschulpflichtgesetz'' (''Empire Compulsory Schooling Act''), was in effect. This law classified people with complex disabilities as unfit for education. For the disabled, compulsory schooling was not introduced until 1978, regardless of the type and intensity of the disability.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Anzeige von Das Recht auf Bildung und das besondere Recht auf Bildung {{!}} Zeitschrift für Inklusion|url=https://www.inklusion-online.net/index.php/inklusion-online/article/view/157/157|access-date=2020-11-02|journal=Zeitschrift für Inklusion|date=26 October 2009|last1=Platte|first1=Andrea}}</ref>
Initially, the Schulpflicht applied only to children with German citizenship. It was extended to foreign-born children in the 1960s. For asylum seeker children in North Rhine-Westphalia for example, it was introduced in 2005. Previously, there had been at most a right to attend school.
== Positions ==
=== Advocacy === <!--Please only include advocacy that is explicitly related to the Schulpflicht. There are many (also generally reliable) sources that claim that the Schulpflicht is a factor that gives children the opportunity to be educated. However, this would theoretically also be guaranteed by a compulsory education law which is why this shouldn't be added here.--> The Schulpflicht serves to enforce the state's educational mandate. This mandate is also officially aimed at educating the students as future citizens. The Federal Constitutional Court ruled that schools are better suited than other ways of education for this purpose, as they claim that „Kontakte mit der Gesellschaft und den in ihr vertretenen unterschiedlichen Auffassungen nicht nur gelegentlich stattfinden, sondern Teil einer mit dem regelmäßigen Schulbesuch verbundenen Alltagserfahrung sind“ ("contacts with society and the different views represented in it do not only take place occasionally, but are part of an everyday experience associated with regular school attendance").<ref>BVerfG, 2 BvR 1693/04 vom 31. Mai 2006, Abs. 16 aa.</ref>
The Federal Agency for Civic Education (bpb) argues for the Schulpflicht that „Die Allgemeinheit hat ein berechtigtes Interesse daran, der Entstehung von religiös oder weltanschaulich motivierten, Parallelgesellschaften' entgegenzuwirken und Minderheiten zu integrieren [...]“ ("The general public has a legitimate interest in counteracting the emergence of religiously or ideologically motivated 'parallel societies' and in integrating minorities...") and claims that „Unsere Gesellschaften sind [...] nur möglich, weil es Schulen gibt, die allen Kindern die notwendigen Voraussetzungen für die Kommunikation vermitteln, das heißt sowohl Kulturtechniken als auch die Orientierung an kulturellen Normen und Werten“ ("Our societies are... only possible because there are schools that provide all children with the necessary prerequisites for communication, that is, both cultural techniques and an orientation towards cultural norms and values").<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tenorth|first=Heinz-Elmar|title=Kurze Geschichte der allgemeinen Schulpflicht {{!}} bpb|url=https://m.bpb.de/gesellschaft/bildung/zukunft-bildung/185878/geschichte-der-allgemeinen-schulpflicht|access-date=2020-11-05|website=bpb.de|date=6 June 2014 |language=de}}</ref> In addition, they claim that homeschooling is „[...] von radikalen bibelgläubigen christlichen Eltern gefordert [...]“ ("...demanded by radical bible-believing Christian parents...").<ref>{{Cite web|last=Wrase|first=Michael|title=Bildungsrecht – wie die Verfassung unser Schulwesen (mit-) gestaltet {{!}} bpb|url=https://m.bpb.de/gesellschaft/bildung/zukunft-bildung/174625/bildungsrecht-wie-die-verfassung-unser-schulwesen-mit-gestaltet|access-date=2021-01-08|website=bpb.de|date=4 December 2013 |language=de}}</ref> The bpb also thinks that the Schulpflicht does not just mean that all children have to go to school, but also that all children have the right to attend school,<ref name=":9">{{Cite web|last=Toyka-Seid|first=Gerd Schneider, Christiane|title=Schulpflicht {{!}} bpb|url=https://m.bpb.de/nachschlagen/lexika/das-junge-politik-lexikon/161595/schulpflicht|access-date=2020-11-06|website=bpb.de|language=de}}{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> although this would not require compulsory schooling, which is why some people see this as a misappropriation of the word.<ref name=":6" /> They claim that it is one of the children's rights to attend school,<ref name=":9" /> although the children's rights education do not state that this has to be mandatory.
The then CSU chairman Erwin Huber justified the Schulpflicht in September 2008 with the following explanation:<ref>http://www.kandidatenwatch.de/erwin_huber-120-16282--f143173.html#frage143173{{Dead link|date=January 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
{{blockquote|Die allgemeine Schulpflicht gilt als eine unverzichtbare Bedingung für die Gewährleistung der freiheitlichen demokratischen Grundordnung und zugleich als unerlässliche Voraussetzung für die Sicherung der wirtschaftlichen und sozialen Wohlfahrt der Gesellschaft. Sinn und Zweck der Schulpflicht ist nicht nur die Vermittlung von Lehrplaninhalten, sondern insbesondere auch die Schulung der Sozialkompetenz der Kinder. Die Sozialkompetenz wird durch das Lernen in der Klassengemeinschaft und durch gemeinsame Schulveranstaltungen in besonderem Maße gefördert. Neben der Förderung der Sozialkompetenz hat die Schule auch die Funktion, während der Unterrichtszeit auf das Kindeswohl zu achten. Würde man Ausnahmen von der Schulpflicht zulassen, müsste diese Aufgabe von den Jugendämtern übernommen werden. Die Bayerische Verfassung will mit der allgemeinen Schulpflicht alle Kinder und Jugendlichen gleichermaßen und umfassend in die Gesellschaft eingliedern. Dies ist eine der großen emanzipatorischen und demokratischen Entwicklungen des 19. Jahrhunderts.}} {{blockquote|General Compulsory Schooling is considered an indispensable requirement for guaranteeing the free democratic basic order and at the same time an essential condition for securing the economic and social welfare of the society. The meaning and purpose of Compulsory Schooling is not only to convey the content of the curriculum, but also, in particular, to train the children's social skills. Social skills are particularly promoted through learning in the class community and through joint school events. In addition to promoting social skills, school also has the function of paying attention to the child's well-being during class time. If there were exceptions from Compulsory Schooling, this task would have to be taken over by the youth welfare offices. With Compulsory Schooling, the Bavarian Constitution aims to integrate all children and young people equally and comprehensively into society. This is one of the great emancipatory and democratic developments of the 19th century.}}
=== Criticism === {{See also|Anti-schooling activism}} <!--Please only include criticism that is explicitly related to the Schulpflicht. Criticism related to compulsory schooling in general should be put in the article "Anti-schooling activism".--> The Schulpflicht has frequently faced criticism from various groups overtime.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5">{{Cite web|title=Homeschooling & Co. als Alternative?|url=https://www.trendyone.de/news/homeschooling-co-als-alternative|access-date=2020-11-02|website=www.trendyone.de|language=de-de}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite web|last=Tenorth|first=Heinz-Elmar|title=Kurze Geschichte der allgemeinen Schulpflicht {{!}} bpb|url=https://www.bpb.de/gesellschaft/bildung/zukunft-bildung/185878/geschichte-der-allgemeinen-schulpflicht|access-date=2020-11-04|website=bpb.de|date=6 June 2014 |language=de}}</ref>
Some argue that it violates article 26 (3) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,<ref name=":5" /> which states: "Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/|title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights}}</ref> and the freedom of assembly.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=#FridaysforFuture - Ein Argument gegen die Schulpflicht|url=https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/fridaysforfuture-ein-argument-gegen-die-schulpflicht.1005.de.html?dram:article_id=446047|access-date=2020-11-02|website=Deutschlandfunk Kultur| date=12 April 2019 |language=de}}</ref> Some people also see the Schulpflicht as a form of deprivation of liberty.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Müller|first=Verena|date=2020-02-03|title=Verstoß gegen Schulpflicht: Welche Strafen Freilernern drohen|url=https://www.morgenpost.de/politik/article228320669/Freilerner-gegen-Schulpflicht-Schule-ist-Freiheitsentzug.html|access-date=2020-11-06|website=www.morgenpost.de|language=de-DE}}</ref> There are also people who find that the Schulpflicht violates article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.<ref>[http://www.95-thesen-gegen-schule.de/fileadmin/Presse/95_Thesen_gegen_Schule.pdf 95 Thesen gegen Schule] (PDF data; written by René Böttcher with Bertrand Stern among other people)</ref>
The UN special rapporteur on the right to education, {{ill|Vernor Muñoz|de}}, expressed concern in his report published in Berlin on February 21, 2006, that the restrictive German compulsory education system criminalizes the use of the right to education through alternative forms of learning such as homeschooling.<ref>{{Cite web |date=15 Mar 2006 |first=Vernor |last=Muñoz |title=Mission to Germany |url=http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/4session/A.HRC.4.29.Add.3.pdf |access-date=2023-06-15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610180336/http://www.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrcouncil/docs/4session/A.HRC.4.29.Add.3.pdf |archive-date=2007-06-10 }}</ref> University President {{ill|Dieter Lenzen|de}} criticizes that Germany, unlike seven other European countries and the US, adheres to a rigid school attendance requirement instead of leaving it to the parents to decide how and through whom children are educated.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Heimunterricht muss erlaubt sein|url=https://m.tagesspiegel.de/wissen/freie-sicht-heimunterricht-muss-erlaubt-sein/1520628.html|access-date=2020-11-02|newspaper=Der Tagesspiegel Online|language=de}}</ref>
In particular, the way the authorities deal with school-aged mentally or physically handicapped people and efforts cater to their needs are often criticized in Germany, since said group is also generally obliged to attend school in Germany.<ref name=":0" />
Immigrants from Germany, who wanted to teach their children themselves, argued at an immigration court in the USA that the common practice in Germany of refusing parents permission to study at home as a substitute for schooling was political persecution. While in 2010 the immigration court accepted the arguments of the school refusers,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dubro|first=Lukas|date=2010-01-27|title=Flucht vor der Schulpflicht: Deutsche erhalten US-Asyl|language=de|work=Die Tageszeitung: taz|url=https://taz.de/!5148679/|access-date=2020-11-02|issn=0931-9085}}</ref> the Board of Immigration Appeals rejected the family's application in May 2013 on the grounds that US immigration laws did not guarantee an automatic right to stay for anyone who experienced restrictions outside the United States that would not exist under the American constitution.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Homeschooling: Familie Romeike bekommt doch kein Asyl in den USA - DER SPIEGEL - Panorama|url=https://www.spiegel.de/lebenundlernen/schule/homeschooling-familie-romeike-bekommt-doch-kein-asyl-in-den-usa-a-900109.html|access-date=2020-11-02|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=15 May 2013|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=2013-05-18|title=USA: Kein Asyl für deutsche Schulverweigerer|url=https://www.kath.net/news/41337|access-date=2020-11-02|website=kath.net katholische Nachrichten|language=de}}</ref>
German philosopher and author Bertrand Stern sees it as a fundamental human right to be able to educate oneself freely (independent from an institution), which is violated by compulsory schooling and criticizes the German system of mandatory schooling in his books and publications,<ref>{{Cite book|last=Stern|first=Bertrand|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/879500374|title=Schluß mit Schule! das Menschenrecht, sich frei zu bilden|publisher=tologo Verlag|year=2006|isbn=978-3-940596-39-0|oclc=879500374}}</ref> which he describes as „inhuman“ ("inhuman"), „verfassungswidrig“ ("unconstitutional") and „obsolet“ ("obsolete") and having „[...] überhaupt keinen Platz mehr in unserer Wirklichkeit“ "...no longer any place in our reality".<ref name=":2b">Interaktiver Kongress (interactive congress" "EMPOWER THE CHILD" with Regina Sari: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JoW7I_IL7p8</ref> He thinks that the Schulpflicht will be abolished very soon.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Die Stiftung {{!}} Stiftung Bertrand Stern|url=http://bertrandstern-stiftung.de/die-stiftung/|access-date=2020-08-30|language=de|archive-date=2020-03-21|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200321005907/http://bertrandstern-stiftung.de/die-stiftung/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
German neurobiologist and author Gerald Hüther criticizes the Schulpflicht as degrading children as self-determined subjects to incapacitated objects of schooling.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web|date=2015-10-28|title=Gerald Hüther: Schule und Gesellschaft – die Radikalkritik|url=https://www.stifterverband.org/video/huether_schule_und_gesellschaft_radikalkritik|access-date=2020-11-05|website=Stifterverband|language=de}}</ref> In his opinion, school should be a place which children are motivated to attend voluntarily and enthusiastically.<ref name=":7" /> He thinks that it is „[...] das Furchtbarste, das einem überhaupt passieren kann [...]“ ("...the most terrible thing that can ever happen to you..." if you ask young people why they go to school and their only answer is „Weil ich muss“ ("Because I have to") and that children want to learn naturally when they are born.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3Bn6RzBZlJ4|title = Gerald Hüther: Potentialentfaltung – Was wir sind oder was wir sein könnten|website = YouTube| date=15 October 2018 }}</ref> He is also of the opinion that schools in Germany are deliberately designed to push pupils towards being passive consumers and detached from the political system when they grow up, „[...] damit wir genügend Kunden für den Müll haben, den wir hier ihnen andrehen wollen [...]“ ("...so that we have enough customers for the rubbish that we want to sell them here...").<ref name=":7" />
German philosopher Richard David Precht considers it questionable to dictate to children how to spend a large part of their most formative and most important developmental phase and questions whether there is a need in the name of education to „[...] Kindern 10.000 Stunden [an] Lebenszeit abzuzwacken“ ("...stifle children 10,000 hours [of] life").<ref>In a conversation with the German journalist Reinhard Kahl on the subject of education, Richard David Precht gave his opinion about school. An excerpt from the conversation can be seen [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SNKBPtmlt5Q&t=219s here] on YouTube.</ref> He is of the opinion that in times of easy access to information via the Internet, it is harder to justify the necessity for schools.<ref name=":8">ZDF: Volle Kanne, airing from May 23, 2013 with Richard David Precht. A reupload can be seen [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M5_l0c0CbQc&t=595s here] on YouTube.</ref> He believes that schools have lost their role as the primary provider of knowledge to the next generation and their learning objectives should therefore shift the focus to promoting a child's development in areas such as personality, teamwork and creativity.<ref name=":8" /> He assumes that in the future more and more parents will ask themselves why they should send their children to school.<ref name=":8" />
Some educational researchers see the Schulpflicht as counterproductive and sometimes leading to lower performance on the part of students and less interest in some topics. The sociologist Ulrich Oevermann, for example, is in favor of abolishing the Schulpflicht viewing it as unhelpful for creating better educated young people. He criticizes the „Trichterpädagogik“ ("funnel pedagogy") and conceives a Socratic maeutic pedagogy of understanding.<ref name=":3" />
German lawyer with focus on school and administration law and member of the ''Vorstand des Bundesverbandes für Bildungsfreiheit'' Andreas Vogt sees it as a human right to be able to educate his children at home instead of in school.<ref name=":13">{{Cite web|title=ZEIT ONLINE {{!}} Lesen Sie zeit.de mit Werbung oder im PUR-Abo. Sie haben die Wahl.|url=https://www.zeit.de/zustimmung?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.zeit.de%2Famp%2Fgesellschaft%2Fschule%2F2019-01%2Fhomeschooling-schulpflicht-menschenrechte-wuerde-kinder|access-date=2021-04-11|website=www.zeit.de}}</ref> He says: „So rigide und repressiv wie Deutschland agiert in Europa kein anderer Staat.“ ("No other state in Europe is as rigid and repressive as Germany.")<ref name=":13" />
It is sometimes argued that the Schulpflicht assumes that children are unwilling or unable to educate themselves or to be educated outside a school and parents lack the ability to raise their children independently.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=Bildungssystem - Die Schulpflicht gehört abgeschafft!|url=https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/bildungssystem-die-schulpflicht-gehoert-abgeschafft.1005.de.html?dram:article_id=392423|access-date=2020-11-03|website=Deutschlandfunk Kultur| date=August 2017 |language=de-DE}}</ref>
On December 8, 2014, German radio station Deutschlandfunk Kultur did an interview with a German father who unschools his children and argued that the purpose of the Schulpflicht is to „[...] lernen, sich unterzuordnen [...]“ ("...learn to submit ...").<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|title=Ein Vater erzählt - "Mein Kind geht nicht zur Schule"|url=https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/ein-vater-erzaehlt-mein-kind-geht-nicht-zur-schule.976.de.html?dram:article_id=305604|access-date=2020-11-05|website=Deutschlandfunk Kultur| date=8 December 2014 |language=de-DE}}</ref> He thinks that the Schulpflicht „[...] Lernen behindert und Mündigkeit erstick [...]“ ("...hinders learning and stifles maturity...") and that communication and discussion are strictly regulated in school, which is why he does not see school as a suitable place where socialization can take place.<ref name=":6" />
On November 8, 2018, police wanted to force a 15-year-old school refuser to attend school in Halle-Neustadt and came to her home, whereupon she fled to the balcony and jumped down.<ref name=":2" /> Resuscitation measures were carried out and the victim was taken to hospital.<ref name=":2" /> At around 8:55 a.m., the police were informed by the rescue control center that the girl had died despite intensive treatment.<ref name=":2" />
Some believe the Schulpflicht is maintained because they think school costs like tutoring and school trips are an important economic factor in Germany.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2005-08-09|title=Wer bezahlt die Schule?|url=https://www.fr.de/wissen/bezahlt-schule-11731004.html|access-date=2020-11-06|website=www.fr.de|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title="Bewusstsein schafft Visionen" - Bertrand Stern zum Ausbruch aus der Schulpflicht - YouTube|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuhDYWXOkLA&t=&app=desktop|access-date=2020-11-06|website=www.youtube.com| date=28 January 2017 }}</ref>
It has been criticized that the Schulpflicht is also maintained during the COVID-19 pandemic in many German states, which increases the likelihood that students will be infected.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-08-09|title=Schulpflicht: Darf der Staat Kinder in den Unterricht zwingen, wenn er dort den Gesundheitsschutz nicht gewährleisten kann?|url=https://www.news4teachers.de/2020/08/debatte-um-schulpflicht-darf-der-staat-kinder-in-den-unterricht-zwingen-wenn-er-dort-den-gesundheitsschutz-nicht-gewaehrleisten-kann/|access-date=2020-11-06|website=News4teachers|language=de-DE}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web|date=2020-10-29|title=Jetzt ist klar: Der Staat kann (und will) den Gesundheitsschutz in Schulen nicht gewährleisten – hebt die Schulpflicht auf!|url=https://www.news4teachers.de/2020/10/jetzt-ist-klar-der-staat-kann-und-will-den-gesundheitsschutz-in-schulen-nicht-gewaehrleisten-hebt-die-schulpflicht-auf/|access-date=2020-11-06|website=News4teachers|language=de-DE}}</ref> The hygiene measures in German schools are also criticized,<ref name=":12" /> and politicians are accused of denying that there are many Corona cases in German schools.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|last1=Zimmermann|first1=Olaf|last2=Wochenblatt|first2=Redaktion Elbe|title=Wie sicher sind Schulen? {{!}} Elbe Wochenblatt|url=https://www.elbe-wochenblatt.de/2020/11/10/wie-sicher-sind-schulen/|access-date=2020-11-10|language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Redaktion|date=2020-11-09|title=Schulen sind sicher? Wie wäre es mal mit der Wahrheit, Kultusminister?|url=https://www.news4teachers.de/2020/11/die-schulen-sind-sicher-wie-waere-es-mal-langsam-mit-der-wahrheit-kultusminister/|access-date=2020-11-10|website=News4teachers|language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Redaktion|date=2020-11-13|title=Werden Kitas und Schulen jetzt doch zu Corona-Hotspots? Interne Daten von Bund und Ländern zeigen drastische Entwicklung auf|url=https://www.news4teachers.de/2020/11/werden-kitas-und-schulen-jetzt-doch-zu-corona-hotspots-interne-daten-von-bund-und-laendern-zeigen-dramatische-entwicklung-auf/|access-date=2020-11-13|website=News4teachers|language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Redaktion|date=2020-11-17|title=Virologin Eckerle: Kinder spielen jetzt eine größere Rolle im Infektionsgeschehen|url=https://www.news4teachers.de/2020/11/virologin-eckerle-kinder-spielen-jetzt-eine-groessere-rolle-im-infektionsgeschehen/|access-date=2020-11-17|website=News4teachers|language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Redaktion|date=2020-11-19|title=Wie Schulleitungen vom Land unter Druck gesetzt werden, Probleme mit Corona zu verschweigen – und zu lügen ("Ihre Schule ist sicher")|url=https://www.news4teachers.de/2020/11/wie-schulleitungen-vom-land-unter-druck-gesetzt-werden-probleme-in-der-corona-krise-zu-verschweigen-und-sogar-zu-luegen/|access-date=2020-11-19|website=News4teachers|language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Redaktion|date=2020-11-20|title=Größter Ausbruch an Schule in Deutschland – ausgerechnet in Hamburg (wo der Bildungssenator gestern die Schulen für sicher erklärt hat)|url=https://www.news4teachers.de/2020/11/groesster-ausbruch-an-schule-in-deutschland-ausgerechnet-in-hamburg-wo-der-bildungssenator-am-vortag-die-schulen-fuer-sicher-erklaert-hat/|access-date=2020-11-20|website=News4teachers|language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Redaktion|date=2020-11-22|title=Kultusminister weigern sich weiter, den RKI-Empfehlungen für Schulen zu folgen – Wissenschaftler: Schulen sind Treiber der Pandemie|url=https://www.news4teachers.de/2020/11/kultusminister-weigern-sich-weiter-den-rki-empfehlungen-fuer-schulen-zu-folgen-wissenschaftler-schulen-sind-treiber/|access-date=2020-11-22|website=News4teachers|language=de-DE}}</ref> There were also demonstrations organized by students themselves.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Redaktion|date=2020-12-05|title=Gegen Präsenzunterricht um jeden Preis: Schüler machen mobil – und organisieren sogar eigenmächtig Wechselunterricht|url=https://www.news4teachers.de/2020/12/gegen-praesenzunterricht-um-jeden-preis-in-immer-mehr-staedten-machen-schueler-mobil-und-organisieren-sogar-eigenmaechtig-wechselunterricht/|access-date=2020-12-09|website=News4teachers|language=de-DE}}</ref> Baden-Württemberg ist the only state in Germany that has temporarily suspended the school attendance factor of the Schulpflicht for undefined time,<ref name=":10" /> meaning that students can take advantage of distance education if their parents request it.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2020-09-12|title=In Baden-Württemberg startet das neue Schuljahr – ohne Schulbesuchspflicht|url=https://www.news4teachers.de/2020/09/in-baden-wuerttemberg-startet-das-neue-schuljahr-ohne-schulbesuchspflicht/|access-date=2020-11-06|website=News4teachers|language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Kultusministerium informiert Schulen zum neuen Schuljahr|url=https://www.baden-wuerttemberg.de/de/service/presse/pressemitteilung/pid/kultusministerium-informiert-schulen-zum-neuen-schuljahr/|access-date=2020-11-06|website=Baden-Württemberg.de|date=3 September 2020 |language=de}}</ref> After estimates of the Deutscher Lehrerverband, 300,000 students (about 2.7% of all students) and 30,000 teachers in Germany are in quarantine as of November 2020.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Redaktion|date=2020-11-11|title=Lehrerverband: 300.000 Schüler und 30.000 Lehrer sitzen derzeit in Quarantäne fest|url=https://www.news4teachers.de/2020/11/deutscher-lehrerverband-schaetzt-300-000-schueler-und-30-000-lehrer-sitzen-derzeit-in-quarantaene-fest-meidinger-salami-lockdown/|access-date=2020-11-11|website=News4teachers|language=de-DE}}</ref>
According to German business journalist Rainer Hank, the Schulpflicht and the associated educational monopoly harm learning.<ref name=":11" /> He thinks that this monopoly is not best interests of children and that there are many factors which speak against the quality of state schools in Germany such as repeated poor results in the Pisa findings and the increasing student exodus to private schools.<ref name=":11" />
German pedagogue Volker Ladenthin thinks that German parents have more confidence in the state than in most other countries which is why many people in Germany do not question the Schulpflicht.<ref name=":11" />
The argument that parallel societies would be formed without compulsory schooling is criticized as experience from other countries suggest that this is not the case and many see school itself as a kind of parallel society.<ref name=":11" /><ref>{{Cite news|last=Lehn|first=Birgitta|date=2014-12-10|title=Hausunterricht: Zum Lernen braucht's die Schule nicht|url=https://m.faz.net/aktuell/karriere-hochschule/campus/warum-ist-hausunterricht-in-deutschland-verboten-13303144.html|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-12-25|website=FAZ.NET|language=de}}</ref> For example, it is criticized that many of the things taught in schools have little relation to everyday life and that many things that are important for life are not taught in schools.<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=Statt Geometrie und Gedichtanalyse: Was hätten Sie gerne in der Schule gelernt?|url=https://www.focus.de/familie/schule/unterricht/realitaetsferne-unterrichtsinhalte-statt-geometrie-und-gedichtanalyse-was-haetten-sie-gerne-in-der-schule-gelernt_id_4405231.html|access-date=2020-11-07|website=FOCUS Online|language=de}}</ref>
==== Positions of political parties ==== In their 2016 party program, the Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) suggested abolishing the Schulpflicht and giving parents the right to choose whether their children attend a school or are being educated at home.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |last=Kain |first=Florian |date=2016-02-11 |title=Forderung nach Hausunterricht: AfD will Schulpflicht abschaffen |url=https://www.bild.de/politik/inland/alternative-fuer-deutschland/aufregung-um-hausunterricht-44528038.bild.html |access-date=2024-11-28 |website=bild.de |language=de}}</ref> This homeschooling must be conducted by a private tutor and has to adhere to the "same quality standards" that apply to state schools.<ref name=":16" />
German libertarian party Party of Reason (PDV) has argued for replacing the Schulpflicht with a compulsory education law in its party program, arguing that compulsory schooling specifies how education should be achieved, although school may not be ideally suited as a form of education for everyone.<ref name=":4">{{Cite web|title=Bildung|url=https://parteidervernunft.de/themen/bildung/|access-date=2020-11-02|website=parteidervernunft.de|language=de-DE}}</ref> The party also criticizes „[...] Das [...] staatliche Bildungsmonopol [...]“ ("...The... state educational monopoly..."), arguing that „[...] die Geschichte [hat] uns gelehrt, dass der Staat kein neutraler Spieler in der Bildung ist [...]“ ("...history [has] taught us that the state is not a neutral player in education...").<ref name=":4" /> They say that „Bildung ist von so großer Bedeutung, dass sie keinem politischen Einfluss unterliegen darf“ ("Education is so important that it cannot be subject to political influence") and claim that the Schulpflicht was introduced under Adolf Hitler so that children's education could be controlled by the state.<ref name=":4" />
The Pirate Party Germany is also working to replace compulsory schooling in Germany with compulsory education.<ref name=":14">{{Cite web|last=Amende|first=Peter|title=Positionspapier – Bildungsrecht und Bildungspflicht statt Schulbesuchspflicht|url=https://www.piratenpartei.berlin/positionspapiere/bildungsrecht-und-bildungspflicht-statt-schulbesuchspflicht/|access-date=2021-04-12|website=Piratenpartei Berlin|language=de-DE}}</ref> The argument put forward is that „[...] Bildung auch außerhalb von Institutionen erworben werden kann.“ ("...education can also be acquired outside of institutions.")<ref name=":14" /> According to the party, compulsory schooling prevents people from „alternative Bildungswege [zu] beschreiten“ ("pursuing alternative educational paths").<ref name=":14" /> Furthermore, „Jeder Mensch [...] das Recht auf freien und selbstbestimmten Zugang zu Wissen und Bildung.“ ("Everyone... has the right to free and self-determined access to knowledge and education.")<ref name=":14" /> In addition, „Der Erwerb von Abschlüssen [und Wissen] muss unabhängig davon möglich sein, wie und wo gelernt wurde [...]“ ("the acquisition of qualifications [and knowledge] must be possible regardless of how and where learning took place...".<ref name=":14" /> Visits should finally ensure that „[...] die Lernenden sich tatsächlich und mit hinreichendem Erfolg bilden.“ ("...the learners actually educate themselves and with sufficient success.")<ref name=":14" />
The chairman of the youth association of the FDP ''Junge Liberale'', Matti Karstedt, advocates replacing compulsory schooling in Brandenburg with compulsory education, „[...] damit Familien die größtmögliche Freiheit in Bildungsfragen ihrer Kinder erhalten.“ ("...so that families have the greatest possible freedom in the educational issues of their children.")<ref name=":15">{{Cite web|title=Junge Liberale: Schulpflicht ist überholt {{!}} Junge Liberale Brandenburg e.V.|url=https://julis-brandenburg.de/2018/junge-liberale-schulpflicht-ist-ueberholt/|access-date=2021-05-21|language=de}}</ref> Certificates of achievement must be provided outside of school.<ref name=":15" /> If the educational requirements are not met or the evidence is not provided, compulsory schooling should begin for these children at the beginning of the next school year.<ref name=":15" />
The minor parties Allianz Deutscher Demokraten,<ref>{{Cite web|last=|title=Womit die kleinen Parteien um Stimmen werben|url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/btw17/btw-kleine-parteien-103.html|access-date=2021-05-21|website=tagesschau.de|language=de}}</ref> Die Violetten,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Gilfert|first=Jana|date=2017-05-12|title=Die Violetten wollen in den Landtag: spirituelle Spinner oder realistische Politik?|url=https://www.derwesten.de/staedte/oberhausen/die-violetten-wollen-in-den-landtag-spirituelle-spinner-oder-realistische-politik-id210537497.html|access-date=2021-05-21|website=www.derwesten.de|language=de}}</ref> {{ill|Deutsche Mitte|de}}<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2017-08-25|title=Bundestagswahl 2017: Was treibt die Rechtsaußen-Parteien im Wahlkampf um? Deutsche Mitte|url=https://www.belltower.news/bundestagswahl-2017-was-treibt-die-rechtsaussen-parteien-im-wahlkampf-um-deutsche-mitte-45218/|access-date=2021-05-21|website=Belltower.News|language=de-DE}}</ref> and Bündnis C<ref>{{Cite web|last=|first=|title=Bildungspflicht statt Schulpflicht – Hausunterricht zulassen!|url=https://buendnis-c.de/bildungspflicht-statt-schulpflicht-hausunterricht-zulassen-2180/|access-date=2021-05-21|website=Bündnis C|language=de-DE}}</ref> are also calling for the introduction of compulsory education instead of compulsory schooling in Germany.
The Anarchist Pogo Party of Germany wants to abolish the Schulpflicht,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://regenbogen.kraetzae.de/ausgaben/23/appd|title = KinderRächtsZeitung Regenbogen (23) Kinderrechtliches bei der APPD}}</ref> though it does not state whether it wants to replace it with a compulsory education law instead.
The Transhumane Partei Deutschland argues for the "development and testing of modern alternatives to compulsory school attendance".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Parteiprogramm |url=https://transhumane-partei.de/parteiprogramm/ |access-date=2022-03-13 |website=Transhumane Partei Deutschland |language=de-DE}}</ref>
== Literature ==
* Hermann Avenarius, Hans Heckel, Hans-Christoph Loebel: ''Schulrechtskunde. Ein Handbuch für die Praxis, Rechtsprechung und Wissenschaft.'' 7. Auflage. Luchterhand, Neuwied 2006, {{ISBN|3-472-02175-6}}. * Bertrand Stern: ''Schluß mit Schule! – das Menschenrecht, sich frei zu bilden.'' Tologo Verlag, Leipzig 2006, {{ISBN|3-9810444-5-2}}. * Bertrand Stern: ''Schule? Nein danke! Für ein Recht auf freie Bildung!'' In: Kristian Kunert (publisher): ''Schule im Kreuzfeuer. Auftrag – Aufgaben – Probleme. Ringvorlesung zu Grundfragen der Schulpädagogik an der Universität Tübingen.'' Schneider Verlag Hohengehren, Baltmannsweiler 1993, {{ISBN|3-87116-918-8}}. * Bertrand Stern: ''Zum Ausbruch aus der Beschulungsideologie: Gute Gründe, auch juristisch den Schulverweigerern unser prospektives Vertrauen zu schenken.'' In: Matthias Kern (publisher): ''Selbstbestimmte und selbstorganisierte Bildung versus Schulpflicht.'' tologo, Leipzig 2016, {{ISBN|978-3-937797-59-5}}. *{{citation|last=Pachtler |first=Georg Michael|title=Die geistige Knechtung der Völker durch das Schulmonopol des modernen Staates|publisher=Habbel|date=1876|oclc=1070781020|language=de|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1070781020|access-date=2020-04-02 }} *{{citation|surname1=Schlaffke, Winfried.|title=Freie Schulen – eine Herausforderung für das staatliche Schulmonopol|publisher=Adamas-Verl|isbn=3-925746-48-X|date=1997|oclc=75882418|language=de|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/75882418|access-date=2020-04-02 }}
== References == <references />
== External links == *[https://m.bpb.de/nachschlagen/lexika/das-junge-politik-lexikon/161595/schulpflicht Schulpflicht]{{Dead link|date=February 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} on the website of the Federal Agency for Civic Education
Category:Law of Germany Category:Compulsory education