Saxon-Anhalt may become a testing ground for the controversial educational policies proposed by the AfD. This is according to a legal opinion for the Federal Association of Free Alternative Schools (BFAS), which the newspaper “Spiegel” has reported on, and which has yet to be officially published.
The proposed changes-new curricula, the end of inclusive education, and the abolition of compulsory schooling-are considered by the opinion to be illegal if the AfD were to implement its education platform after the legislative election. For instance, scrapping compulsory schooling would likely require a two-thirds majority in the state parliament.
However, one of the authors of the study cautioned that this should not be cause for outright alarm. Even if a majority of the educational policies were unconstitutional and eventually overturned by courts, an AfD-led education ministry could create “significant facts” through specific administrative actions. These actions could include restructuring personnel or issuing directives in the supervision of schools run by private foundations, or by adjusting regulatory ordinances.
The AfD Education Minister would potentially retain leeway concerning lesson content or the selection of new staff. The requirement for “characteristic suitability” under civil service law could become an opening for realigning the school policy, as it grants authorities a degree of discretion that is difficult for the courts to scrutinize.
Given these potential avenues for executive action, the role played by staff councils, student representatives, and school conferences becomes even more critical, according to Justus Storch, chairman of BFAS.
