Just recently it was decided to reopen the schools step by step. But the administrative court in Kassel has put a stop to this idea, at least in Hesse. There, the compulsory schooling for the 4th grade was temporarily canceled by the Hessian Administrative Court.
Due to the current situation around the corona virus, the Hessian Administrative Court has decided to provisionally lift the compulsory schooling for 4th grade pupils in the state. This decision also applies to these cohorts at speech therapy schools and schools with a focus on seeing and hearing. A spokesman for the court confirmed on request that this judgment would prohibit the opening of primary schools in Hesse next Monday.
The application for a lawsuit against the ordinance of the state was submitted by a student from Frankfurt. It was intended to prevent fourth graders and students from other final grades from having to attend classes again from April 30th. For other grades, the return is planned from May 3rd.
The judges found that compulsory attendance in class violated higher-level law. This was decided by the judges of the 8th Senate at the Administrative Court in Kassel in an urgent procedure on Friday. The court came to this conclusion because the majority of the pupils would not be allowed to go to school until May 3rd. A duty to teach before this date therefore violates the fundamental right to equal treatment. While almost all pupils are still exempt from teaching, the pupils in the final grades are now exposed to an increased risk of infection. The judges see no unreasonable reason in this unequal treatment, is in the reasoning of the final decision (file number 8 B 1097/20.). This decision is to be binding for all primary schools and thus prohibit opening before May 4th of the year. The parents of the children could not use it to decide whether to send their children to school or not.
