School attendance as a civic duty v. home education as a human right

Abstract

The article presents the legal situation of home education in Germany as a multi-level problem touching upon German constitutional law, State (Länder) constitutional law as well as administrative law, and the liberties of the European Convention of Human Rights. Whereas the parents’ right to care for their children is explicitly granted by German Basic Law, the state’s mandate to educate is seen by the courts as a conflicting principle that usually prevails and justifies compulsory schooling. Exceptions are rarely accepted. The article argues that this mainstream interpretation of the law is unconvincing and not in line with legal reasoning in German constitutional law in general.