{"id":41700,"date":"2024-04-22T10:03:36","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T08:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vebs.de\/question-and-answer\/"},"modified":"2025-06-26T17:49:07","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T15:49:07","slug":"question-and-answer","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vebs.de\/en\/question-and-answer\/","title":{"rendered":"Question and answer"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

What you always wanted to know about independent Christian denominational schools! (FAQs) <\/h2>\n\n

Are denominational schools allowed to promote the Christian faith?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Yes, they are expressly permitted to do so, see the landmark rulings of 1992 (BVerwG file number 6 C 3\/91, headnote 6).<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Where are the limits for denominational schools in promoting the Christian faith?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
The Federal Administrative Court requires “a minimum degree of tolerance in the sense of tolerance towards the differing convictions of others” as well as “respect for and promotion of the pupils’ individual perceptive and judgmental abilities”. \nHowever, the confessional school must not be required to be neutral and open in the sense that “at the end of the school education there should not be a clear commitment to certain beliefs and a commitment to certain values”. Of course, pupils must not be “overwhelmed” (Beutelsbach Consensus). <\/div><\/div><\/div>

Do denominational schools also teach the theory of evolution?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Of course. And incidentally, according to the state’s teaching objectives, pupils should also be able to “distinguish the scientific position of the theory of evolution from non-scientific ideas about the development of living things”. (Core curriculum for secondary schools in North Rhine-Westphalia, 2011, p. 34 f., B3) <\/div><\/div><\/div>

Are non-believing pupils allowed to attend a denominational school?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Yes, pupils may also be admitted who do not share the school’s denomination but want to learn about it, according to the Federal Administrative Court (case reference 6 C 3\/91)<\/a>. In principle, the Basic Law (Article 7 Paragraph 5)<\/a> assumes that denominational schools are there for children from families of this denomination. <\/div><\/div><\/div>

Are pupils of a different faith (denomination) allowed to attend a denominational school?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Only if they seriously want to get to know the faith of the school\/the other pupils and the teachers – this also includes religious education. Pupils of a different faith (denomination) may therefore only attend a Christian denominational school in exceptional cases (refugees). <\/div><\/div><\/div>

How do you become a teacher at a denominational school?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
It’s very simple: you apply directly to the school’s sponsor or to the school itself. However, you usually need the same qualifications as at state schools! <\/div><\/div><\/div>

Is it possible to do a traineeship at a denominational school?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Yes! (Except for very small schools). How do you apply? Quite simply: you apply directly to the school’s sponsor or to the school itself. However, you need the same qualifications as at state schools! <\/div><\/div><\/div>

Is it possible to become a civil servant at a denominational school?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Yes, but unfortunately only in NRW and Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg.<\/div><\/div><\/div>

What do you earn at a denominational school?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
As a rule, the salary is based on that of state schools (TVL), although this varies from state to state because independent schools are subsidized to varying degrees.<\/div><\/div><\/div>

How free are “independent schools” and what role does the state play?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Independent schools are enshrined as a fundamental right in our constitution (Basic Law). They should and may be a supplement to the state school system and ensure diversity. They must fulfill the learning objectives of the respective federal state, but are otherwise very free. However, as alternative schools with state-recognized certificates, they are again subject to stricter controls\/regulations to ensure the comparability of certificates. <\/div><\/div><\/div>

Do “learning objectives” refer to the competence expectations of the guidelines and (core) curricula?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
The third sentence of Article 7(4) of the Basic Law states: “Approval (of a private school) shall be granted if the private schools are not inferior to public schools in terms of their teaching objectives and facilities and the academic training of their teaching staff…”\nTeaching objectives within the meaning of the above-mentioned basic right are the general educational mission of the school and the respective educational objectives of the individual types and levels of school. What matters is whether essentially the same knowledge and skills are imparted, irrespective of whether the teaching is based on an individual ideological foundation with teaching methods and content geared towards this. In this respect, equality with public schools is not required, but rather equivalence (decision, Federal Constitutional Court, March 9, 1994,1 BvR 682, 712\/88). \n“State-recognized” private schools (alternative schools) must enable the transfer of a pupil from the alternative school to the corresponding public school and vice versa without any particular difficulties. The admission and transfer regulations applicable to the corresponding public schools must also be applied.

“Approved” alternative schools (in NRW: provisionally recognized) must reach the level of the educational programme of the public schools by the end of the respective course of education at the latest. They are largely granted freedom with regard to the path taken and the resources used. This can have the consequence that approved private schools (alternative schools) can be so fundamentally different from public schools in terms of their entire structure that, for example, it is not possible for their pupils to switch to the public school system before completing the course of education (BVerfGE 27, 195,205; BVerfG, decision of 08.06.2011, 1 BvR 759\/08) or to switch to the desired type of school (e.g. grammar school). <\/div><\/div><\/div>

Are certificates from non-denominational schools worth the same as certificates from state schools?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Yes, if the independent school is recognized by the state (in NRW: “approved”) – this is almost always the case with Protestant denominational schools.<\/div><\/div><\/div>

How are non-denominational schools financed? Why do you have to pay school fees there? <\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Unfortunately, the state discriminates against pupils at independent schools and provides significantly less money (only around 60 to 70%) than for pupils at state schools. As a result, independent schools unfortunately have to charge school fees or ask for donations – usually on a sliding scale depending on the parents’ income. No child is excluded for financial reasons! <\/div><\/div><\/div>

What are the legal differences between independent schools and independent daycare centers?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Free schools are legally protected as a fundamental right in the Basic Law (Basic Law, Article 7, Paragraphs 4 and 5), free daycare centers in Social Code VIII \u00a7 3 and others.<\/div><\/div><\/div>

What are denominational schools?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Article 12 paragraph 3 of the NRW state constitution defines:
“In denominational schools, children of the Catholic or Protestant faith or of another religious community are taught and educated according to the principles of the denomination in question.”
In addition to those of the two major churches, the “common basis of faith of the German Evangelical Alliance” and the Mennonite confession are recognized by the courts as “confessions”.
A confessional elementary school may be founded by Christian parents in accordance with Article 7 Paragraph 5 of the Basic Law if they have a common confession (not: denomination) and only employees with the same confession are employed. Pupils may also be admitted who do not share this denomination but wish to learn about it, according to two landmark rulings by the Federal Administrative Court in 1992 (case numbers 6 C 3\/91 and 6 C 5\/91).
Denominational schools at secondary level have less stringent requirements with regard to denomination.
Despite a great deal of freedom, the school authorities of the respective federal state also ultimately monitor denominational schools.<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Are denominational schools allowed to be different from state schools?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Not only are they allowed, but in the case of elementary school they must, because these may only be founded if they are different (for example a Protestant denominational school with a corresponding Christian character) – this is stipulated in Article 7 Paragraph 5 of the Basic Law.\nSecondary and vocational schools may, but do not have to be different from state schools.<\/div><\/div><\/div>

What does “state-recognized alternative school” mean?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Alternative schools correspond to the school forms of the state school system and teach the state learning objectives – but also more (e.g. Christianity). They are entitled to work according to their own teaching and educational methods if these are equivalent (but not equal!) to state schools. <\/div><\/div><\/div>

What is an “independent” school and what is the difference to a “private school”?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
In the German Social Code, an independent provider is an institution that provides personnel and material resources for services and is not a public provider or administrative body (municipality, district, state, federal government).<\/div><\/div><\/div>

What is the legal basis for denominational schools?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Basic Law Article 7 (4) and (5)
Federal Administrative Court: landmark judgments in 1992 (case numbers 6 C 3\/91 and 6 C 5\/91).
Constitutions of the federal states, e.g. NRW: Article 12 paragraph 3 of the state constitution<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Doesn’t the state have a monopoly on schools?<\/a><\/h4><\/div>
No, Article 7 Paragraph 4 of the Basic Law guarantees freedom of education and the fundamental right to establish a free (private) school: “The right to establish private schools is guaranteed.” Many state school laws also state that independent schools “complement and enrich” the public school system (e.g. SchulG NRW \u00a7 100, Privatschulgesetz Baden-W\u00fcrttemberg \u00a7 1).<\/div><\/div><\/div>

How is social diversity achieved at independent Protestant schools (despite the unfortunately necessary school fees)? <\/a><\/h4><\/div>
Our schools are attended by children and young people from all income levels because the payments required from parents are staggered according to income and family size (usually reduced for the second child, for example, and free for third and further children). If there is social hardship despite this sliding scale, parental contributions can be waived completely. <\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

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