Request a change of school district
You are not free to choose your primary school.
As a rule, children must attend the primary school in whose school district their parents
- live or
- usually reside.
In exceptional cases, your child can change the school district and attend a different primary school.
Note: You do not have to apply for a change of school district to transfer to a primary school in association with a community school or to an approved public school that runs a primary school. You can simply register your child there. In addition, you must submit proof of registration at the community school or public school to the school responsible for your district of residence (Stamm-Grundschule), which you will receive from this school.
Responsible department
- the State Education Authority (Staatliches Schulamt) responsible for the place of residence (as lower school supervisory authority) or
- in case of transfer of responsibility by the school supervisory authority, the managing school headmaster (the parent primary school provides information on this).
Details
Prerequisite
There must be important reasons in the person of the child or the legal guardian. The best interests of the child are paramount.
An important reason can be, for example, if you apply for a change because
- attendance at an all-day school is desired,
- attendance at an all-day school is not desired,
- after-school care is to take place in the district of the desired school (with proof),
- care is to be provided by relatives or acquaintances in the district of the desired school (employer's certificate with working hours and proof of care must be submitted),
- Your child is to remain at the previous school after moving to another school district, if the remaining time at the school is a maximum of one school year.
Procedure
Apply for the change in writing. You can obtain the application form from your main primary school or find it on the homepage of the State Education Authority responsible for you.
You must hand in the completed application form to your primary school.
You will receive a written decision about the requested change of school.
Required documents
Evidence to support the important reason.
The competent body may request further documents.
Costs
none
Miscellaneous
Approval of a change of school district is not a promise of reimbursement of any school transport costs that may arise.
Release note
The German original version of this text was drafted in close cooperation with the relevant departments. The Kultusministerium released it on 27.01.2016. Only the German text is legally binding. The Federal State does not assume any liability for the translated texts.
In cases of doubt or if you have any questions or problems, please contact the relevant authorities directly.