Educating Germany 

So what is the process that the German State follows when prosecuting a family for homeschooling?



Hold on to your seats this is going to be quite a ride! And it doesn't go in any one direction either. There are many different routes.



A child is supposed to be registered at a school at 6 years of age.

How do 'they' know...well each and every single person in German must register at their local council in the town that they reside. If they pack up their tent and move, they must register at the next place they call home. The registration process includes a persons date of birth - hey presto, a ready made checklist of who should be at school when.



If a teacher works out that a child who ought to be in their class, isn't, they inform the school principal. The principal tries to make contact with the parents to discuss the situation. If the child remains absent the principal informs the regional governing authority responsible for imposing fines ((ie Ordnungsamt, which can be translated into English as Public Affairs Office, or Office for Public Order). [A principal could choose instead to seek the advice of the School Authority or Supervisory School Authority but is then bound by their decision on the course of action.]

The authority responsible for imposing the fines sets a hearing date and the fine (normally in the 3 figures).



"Bussgeld" is a preliminary level of fine, ranging from € 5 up to € 1000 - € 2500 (see below). This fine is for misdemeanours that have already taken place and can only be applied once per time period. It can however be imposed on each parent and the authorities often like to keep short accounts and may issue an ever-increasing fine on a regular basis. (ie monthly!)

Some families pay, some families don't, and it's not always about whether they have the money or not, sometimes its a matter of principle for the latter or trying to buy themselves some time and favour for the former.

Whereas, with infringements of the law in other areas, there are set fines ie speeding fines,possession of protected animals, prohibited association, none exists for not making your children attend a physical school building.

There is a nationwide capped limit of € 1000 under the Administrative Offenses Act (Ordnungswidrigkeitengesetz * below in German) where the limit isn't set by any one of the 16 regional governments.

Berlin set theirs at € 2500! [3976 USD, 1990 GBP, 4085 AUD, or 5406 NZD.]

When the fine is handed out by the court judge they can act on a whimsy and mete out anything from € 5 to € 1000 (or in Berlin € 2500). Some judges are known for handing out their own set fine amount.

Long-term 'truants' (as we all know homeschoolers are (tongue-in-cheek)) tend to incur higher fines in the realm of the capped limits, although these may be increased or decreased on a case by case basis based on the judge's assessment of the seriousness of the offense.

A family can lodge an objection. In that case it is forwarded to the Public Prosecution Service and is then determined by the District Court (Criminal Division). And that is a whole different ball game.



Right, so all that said, then the game steps up a level and the school principal can, in those German states, which have provision for "Schulzwang" (forced school attendance) in their education laws, demand the provision in law to physically (and sometimes forcibly) have the children 'escorted' to school. And this, on a daily basis. A knock, knock, knock on your door in the early hours of the morning to man-handle your darling children into the police vehicle and take them to school. The irony here is that if they leave the school grounds - you as the parent are responsible! Imagine what it may be like for a child to be dropped off by police and suffer the taunt of other peers. Not something that I would thank the State for.



Then most of the time hand in hand with this process (or independent of it) comes Zwangsgeld or Zwangsmassnahmen. Amercement (or coercive penalty payment) in English. If you listened to the BBC radio programme the other day with Jonathan Skeet, he mentioned this word in German. This is like saying that if you don't do what we want, then you have to pay.

These are meant as coercive measures, for specific acts, where the person themselves are obliged to follow a law and which only they are responsible for. They are a deterrent for a present act that is likely to continue to occur in the future. Amercements are also capped by each of the German state regions as set by their "Landes-Verwaltungsvollstreckungsgesetz" -Regional Administrative Enforcement Laws.

For example in Baden-Württemberg it could be up to € 50.000, in principle, relative to the 'crime'.

Repetitive amercements can be issued. These are usually in the four figure digits and increase in the hope of bringing submission.

Remember the Neubronners, and their € 7500 fines.

The same right of appeal exists as for the Bussgeld (initial misdemeanour fines).



Inability to pay this debt is provided for in law, whereby a bailiff may come and impound any saleable possessions to recoup the amercement and are even allowed to append the same to your mortgage.

Refusal or inability to pay this debt may also result in imprisonment for a few days or weeks (usually for both parents).



The other path a family may find themselves dragged down is that instead of issuing administrative proceedings (Bussgeld and Zwangsgeld), criminal proceedings are started immediately. The financial penalties are higher (*see below) and the stakes are raised to include time behind bars. This could be set in motion by either the school principal informing the district prosecutor or the fines authority doing the same. This hearing is before the District Court (Criminal Division).



The school principal can also contact the local Child, Youth and Family authority. It is their responsibility to determine under the "child endangerment" law - the equivalent in many countries of the "failing to provide the necessities of life", if the child is being 'harmed'. If so, its the Family Court's job to hear this case.

You have probably guessed that this often leads to a court order for the custody of the children. But what you may not have known is that this can be done in secret. As parents or as the child, you do not need to be informed that these proceedings are even taking place. A judge, a court appointed child representative, a child & youth welfare officer meet and sign the lives of these children away, in the 'child's best interest' mind you!



And that friends is why many families end up leaving their own homeland. This is the straw that breaks the camels back. As if it is not enough to protect your children and navigate through the negative influences that naturally exist in society, these parents fight harder against the State that itself is supposed to ensure their freedom within it.

Should not the State be concentrating its precious resources on protecting all families from violence, burglary, sexual assault - the real crimes?



The Neubronner family have left their home in the North of Germany for fear of losing custody of their 2 sons and are now in France
The Landahl family left the south of Germany for the Isle of Wight
The Skeet family live on the Isle of Wight too
The Gorber family have had several of their children removed to state 'care'
The Busekros family had their eldest daughter incarcerated in a psychiatric facility and then to a foster home for months
The Dudek family were fined € 1200 and then the parents were sentenced to jail for 3 months a piece
The Mahjoubi Assil family fled to Iran
The Plett family parents were each jailed, then fled to Austria and then to Canada
And the list goes on and on and on and on.......

* Criminal penalties are between 5 and 360 daily 'units' with a minimum unit being equal to € 1 with a capped limit of € 1.8 million!

* Bussgeld

§ 17 Höhe der Geldbuße
(1) Die Geldbuße beträgt mindestens fünf Euro und, wenn das Gesetz nichts anderes bestimmt, höchstens eintausend Euro.
(2) Droht das Gesetz für vorsätzliches und fahrlässiges Handeln Geldbuße an, ohne im Höchstmaß zu unterscheiden, so kann fahrlässiges Handeln im Höchstmaß nur mit der Hälfte des angedrohten Höchstbetrages der Geldbuße geahndet werden.
(3) 1Grundlage für die Zumessung der Geldbuße sind die Bedeutung der Ordnungswidrigkeit und der Vorwurf, der den Täter trifft. 2Auch die wirtschaftlichen Verhältnisse des Täters kommen in Betracht; bei geringfügigen Ordnungswidrigkeiten bleiben sie jedoch in der Regel unberücksichtigt.
(4) 1Die Geldbuße soll den wirtschaftlichen Vorteil, den der Täter aus der Ordnungswidrigkeit gezogen hat, übersteigen. 2Reicht das gesetzliche Höchstmaß hierzu nicht aus, so kann es überschritten werden.

* Orgnungswidrigkeitgesetz
PDF in German