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Why German law wants your child in a school
Written by
Janine El-Saghir
Janine El Saghir is an editor at How-to-Germany.com, where she specializes in the practical aspects of daily life and integration for expatriates. With years of...
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Erkan Boga
Erkan Boga is the founder and CEO of qmedia GmbH, the publishing house behind How-to-Germany.com. He established the platform with the clear vision of creating...
- Not allowed. Every child who lives in Germany must attend a school, and teaching at home does not replace it.
- Rare exceptions exist for children of diplomats, children of traveling showmen and children who are seriously ill.
- The alternatives are schools: public, bilingual or approved private and international schools all count.
Families who homeschool elsewhere may expect to keep going after a move. In Germany they cannot. The duty is to attend school, not just to be educated, and it applies as soon as your family lives in Germany. Bavaria, for example, ties it to the child’s usual place of residence. Plan the school place before you arrive: school enrollment in Germany. For an overview of the school types to choose from: the German school system.
Why Germany does not allow homeschooling
The constitution places the whole school system under the supervision of the state, and every state writes compulsory schooling into its education act, some even into their own constitution. The school is meant to do more than pass on knowledge. In 2006 the Federal Constitutional Court explained that children should learn to live with people who think and believe differently, and that the state may try to prevent parallel societies. Parents may therefore not keep children out of school for religious reasons. The European Court of Human Rights found the German duty to attend school compatible with the European Convention on Human Rights in the same year.
Attending means taking part in lessons and other compulsory school events regularly. Parents and pupils share that responsibility, and the head teacher checks attendance.
The exceptions
School authorities grant exceptions only in very rare cases:
- Children of diplomats.
- Children of traveling showmen, whose families travel with the fairs.
- Children with a serious illness. A child who spends six weeks or more in a hospital, or repeated stays, can get hospital teaching. A child who cannot attend school for a long time without being in hospital is taught at home, if a doctor confirms that the child can follow lessons.
None of these exceptions covers a stay of a few years, a different home language or a different curriculum.
What this means for expat families
Your child must be enrolled at a school once your family lives here. An online program from your home country, a correspondence course or your own curriculum at home does not count as attending school in Germany. You can still teach your home curriculum in the afternoons or on weekends, on top of school.
Private schools count if the state has approved them as a substitute for a public school (Ersatzschule). Compulsory schooling can be completed there, and some have a bilingual or international profile. They may charge fees, but only moderate ones or with reductions. Complementary schools (Ergänzungsschulen) only have to register with the authorities, so check a school’s status before you sign anything. Status, IB and fees of four large schools: international schools in Germany. Some public schools teach in two languages as well, such as the Staatliche Europa-Schule in Berlin, where lessons run in two languages from the first day.
If a child does not attend
Keeping a child out of school is an administrative offence in most states and a criminal offence in five. The school can act against the pupil and the parents to enforce attendance. Courts have confirmed the duty again and again.
Bottom line
If homeschooling was your plan, switch to finding a school that fits: a bilingual public school, an approved international school, or the local school with German support for the first months. Keep your home curriculum for the afternoons.
Part of education in Germany. Next: registering at a school · school holidays.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. School is compulsory for children who live in Germany, and online lessons from abroad do not count as attending school. Bavaria, for example, ties the duty to the child’s usual place of residence. An approved international school or a bilingual school is the closest option if you want to keep the home curriculum.
The school authority of your state. It grants exceptions only in very rare cases, for example for children of diplomats or for a child too ill to attend school. For an illness, a doctor’s certificate is the basis.
Very few. By its own count, the German homeschooling movement numbered 300 to 500 families with up to 1,000 children in 2016, most of them for religious reasons.
Sources (as of 8 November 2026)
Sources (as of 8 November 2026)
- German Bundestag research service, compulsory schooling and homeschooling in Germany (WD 8 – 3000 – 052/16, 2016, in German): legal basis, exceptions, sanctions, the rulings of the Federal Constitutional Court (2006) and the European Court of Human Rights (2006), number of homeschooling families.
- Federal Constitutional Court, decision of 15 October 2014 (in German): confirmation of compulsory schooling.
- Eurydice, European Commission, Germany: organisation of the education system (attendance), organisation of private education (Ersatzschulen, Ergänzungsschulen, fees); KMK Eurydice chapter primary education (hospital and home teaching).
- Bavarian Education Act, Article 35 (in German): compulsory schooling for children whose usual residence is in Bavaria; Berlin Senate Department for Education, school registration (Staatliche Europa-Schule Berlin, in German).