Current | Thuringian Ministry for Education, Youth and Sport

On April 8, 2021, the Weimar District Court passed a resolution on infection protection measures at two Weimar schools. The decision was announced on the evening of April 9, 2021.

The Thuringian Ministry of Education states the following:

1. The resolution has not yet been properly announced. Neither the schools nor the state government have received the resolution in writing. So far we only know one email to the school management.
2. Like any judicial decision, this decision can only have legal effect for those involved in the proceedings. In the present case, there are two students. The decision has no impact on the infection protection measures that were ordered for the Thuringian schools as a whole. They remain legally in force. The same applies to any additional infection protection measures in circles with a high number of infections.
3. The decision raises serious procedural doubts. The family court’s jurisdiction in custody proceedings is limited to questions of custody; the review of infection protection measures or statutory ordinances of the state government, however, is the responsibility of the administrative courts. Also, only specifically named natural or legal persons can be the addressee of judicial orders or prohibitions; the “directors and teachers” of two schools to which the resolution is aimed do not meet this basic requirement.
4. Whether the decision in the face of these and other procedural problems has any legal effect and can endure must be reviewed by a higher court. The Ministry of Education will therefore seek a court review of the decision as soon as possible.
5. The Ministry of Education is in an exchange with the schools on how to deal with the two children affected by the decision. Incidentally, the infection protection measures for all teachers and students continue to apply unchanged at the two schools affected in Weimar and throughout the Free State.

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