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Can I take my Child Out of School to Travel Despite Compulsory School Attendance ?
School to Travel, There are many reasons for long trips. But children are required to attend school in Germany. Can families still travel beyond school vacations? How this can work and what requirements you should know.
At the latest since many in the corona pandemic have moved from the office to the home office and the children from school to homeschooling, this question probably comes up for some travel enthusiasts: Am I allowed to take my child out of school to travel, even though school is mandatory? And if so, how long are we allowed to travel? And of course: How do we deal with the learning content that my child will miss at school during this time?
One thing in advance: There is no simple answer. But there are ways to make this wish a reality. Parents should be aware, however, that children in Germany are required to attend school, which means they have to participate in lessons. By law, they cannot simply take their children out of school to travel. If you do so without prior agreement, you could face fines and even imprisonment.
Officially, the answer is “no” for now.
TRAVEL BOOK inquired with several school offices in the Federal Republic whether parents may take their children for traveling from school. From Bavaria came, first of all, a sobering, although a little surprising “No”. “Parents are not allowed to take their children to travel out of school, because vacation trips are not justified exceptional cases in the sense of § 20 para.
3 BaySchO,” explains Michael Kern, spokesman for the Bavarian State Ministry of Education and Cultural Affairs. This applies “regardless of whether legal guardians take teaching materials with them on the trip and assure that they will work through them with school-age children.” Also, “live transmission of lessons or participation in lessons at a distance on the occasion of a trip is not possible at public schools.”
The Ministry of Education of North Rhine-Westphalia also begins by saying, “Parents are responsible for ensuring that a child attends lessons. They cannot easily take their child out of school for vacation purposes.”
Out the dream of traveling with your school-age child outside of vacation time? Not yet. Because there are options – in consultation with school administrators. And also without.
Travel despite compulsory schooling – this possibility exists
On renewed inquiry on the part of TRAVEL BOOK the speaker of the Bavarian Ministry of Education explains finally that the school line can leave pupils “for limited periods from the instruction attendance” only in particularly stored exceptional cases.
The decision is therefore up to the school administration. The legal basis in Bavaria is § 20 para. 3 sentence 1 of the Bavarian School Regulations (BaySchO). The decision takes particular account of the individual circumstances of the child in question. According to Kern, these include the student’s “ability to perform, scheduling of performance tests during this time, period of leave, possible precedent effect, etc.”
In North Rhine-Westphalia, things are similarly regulated. Here, the Ministry of Education states that the school administration can grant students a leave of absence from classes at the request of their parents – and even “up to the duration of a school year.” If the leave of absence is to last longer, the school supervisory authority must approve it.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, leave of absence is subject to Section 43 (4) of the North Rhine-Westphalia School Act. In North Rhine-Westphalia, important reasons must also be given for leaves of absence or exemptions. These are listed in the Ministry’s circular. According to this, important reasons for leave of absence include various cases of illness and family emergencies and celebrations, as well as recreational and spa stays that are necessary for health reasons, cultural events and participation in competitions, as well as stays abroad and student exchanges.
If parents have good reasons, they can apply for a leave of absence from school for their child. As in North Rhine-Westphalia and Bavaria, this is often done through the school administration, which is regulated in the relevant ordinances of the states. However, it is advisable to get the class teacher on board beforehand. If the class teacher agrees, this could simplify a discussion with the school administration.
How does the child learn while traveling?
If the leave of absence is approved, parents and child may go on a trip together. But what about the lessons the child misses during the travel time? Some people like Johann Wolfgang von Goethe believe that a clever person finds the best education while traveling. The school board, however, is rather indifferent to this. And at least Bavaria and North Rhine-Westphalia agree on this: During a leave of absence, there is no possibility of attending classes – “not even online classes as a substitute,” as the NRW school ministry also emphasizes.
School in the host country
However, NRW also provides a possible solution in the regular form: the decree on “stays abroad or student exchanges” states: “For school-age students, attendance at a school in the host country must be ensured.” So school attendance in the travel country or countries is an option, especially for longer stays abroad. If Family X is planning a year abroad in New Zealand, for example, this option might be the right fit. However, this solution is not suitable for families who are planning a trip where they will be permanently on the road and do not want to stay anywhere for a longer period. Especially not if the child does not have the necessary language skills.
Distance learning school
The possibility of attending school while traveling – and thus complying with the rules of the German school system – also exists in another form: There are correspondence schools where Germans can also enroll their children. This is not necessarily favorable, but maybe a way to convince the school principals. Depending on the content, however, parents would still have to teach their children additionally in this variant to ensure that the children come back with more than just the minimum amount of knowledge and, above all, the subject matter of the home school. In correspondence schools, as with schools in the host country, there are final exams. Reintegration into the German school for the new school year is therefore possible.
Homeschooling
A freer approach is to take the home school material with you and learn on the road. Then the trip can be planned so that the child is back in school for the upcoming exams. In the best case, the child will then pass the exams in such a way that nothing stands in the way of a transfer. However, this route is not an official one, but can only happen in consultation with the respective subject teachers and the school administration. The teachers would have to provide the materials and all parties involved would have to agree with this procedure. In general, homeschooling is not yet a common concept in Germany.
If homeschooling is not supported or not desired by the official side, it can be done without the support of the school system. There are various guides and also online sites with teaching materials, tips, etc. Getting the teaching materials can be a bit tedious, but it is feasible. However, finding a way that has been approved by the authorities can be difficult.
Deregistration
Another variant, how you can travel with children despite compulsory education, is to deregister your residence in Germany – especially if you do not want to live in Germany for the time being anyway. In that case, compulsory school attendance also expires. If you register in other countries, the laws there apply accordingly. This can sometimes mean that instead of compulsory schooling, compulsory education exists. In this case, homeschooling may be allowed. However, this variant should be carefully considered and thought through.