School law: What teachers are allowed to do - and what not

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Schoolchildren with smartphones (archive image)

In the coming weeks, the summer holidays will end in the last federal states. It is a cautious new start: Even if this school year lessons are only possible under stricter conditions and with many new rules, and every authority, every school had to find solutions for itself - some questions remain the same every school year: What are teachers actually allowed to do? Take away the cell phone? Extend the hour after the doorbell? Yelling at students? Forbid going to the toilet?

In a chapter of the new book "Our math teacher teaches from outside - so that he can smoke!" SPIEGEL editors Lena Greiner and Carola Padtberg clarify these questions. It's about giving grades, eating and drinking, detention and smartphones in class - so that disputes don't escalate or end up in court.

Here you can read an excerpt from the chapter "School law - what teachers are allowed and what not".

Can schools completely ban smartphones?

No. School rules that forbid cell phones or smartphones to be carried on the school premises are not permitted, says school law expert Rolf Tarneden. Because pupils have to be accessible to their parents on the way to school, for example. Schools can, however, stipulate that cell phones must be switched off or not used in class and during breaks. If students fail to do so, teachers can confiscate the phones.

How long can teachers use smartphones?

Teachers may temporarily collect cell phones if students use them contrary to school regulations. However, the teachers usually have to return the equipment by the end of the school day at the latest. Unless they have a well-founded suspicion that the smartphone may contain deceptive material or criminal content such as violent videos. Or a student has already frequently bothered with the cell phone and is unreasonable; then teachers can keep the phone until the next day and only have the parents pick it up. In one case that ended up in court, a student's smartphone was taken away on a Friday and not given back to the mother until Monday. The Berlin administrative judges found: That was okay.

Can teachers search smartphones?

No. Teachers are not allowed to rummage through their students' cell phones and look at photos, videos, e-mails or chat histories, even if they suspect prohibited footage there, for example. The contents of a cell phone are private. Only the police are allowed to search school cell phones if they have a court order to do so or if there is imminent danger.

Are students allowed to eat in class?

Only if the teachers allow it. Eating, drinking and chewing gum are prohibited by the teacher during class time. The reason: These things do not contribute to the learning success, but rather distract - and can definitely be postponed to the break. However, teachers can allow their students to do all of this. There are good reasons for both attitudes. In this way, elementary school students in particular can also be informed about healthy eating over breakfast.

Do schools have to be heat-free in midsummer?

Only if the headmistress has decided that. There is no general right to heat free. And even if the neighboring school sends its students home, your own school doesn't have to do that. The decision depends on the impairment of the class and how much the rooms heat up. Elementary school children may only be sent home if their parents have given their consent.

Are teachers allowed to implement students?

Yes. Teachers may set or change the seating arrangement, even against the will of individual students. Those who do not agree can complain, but pupils cannot complain against it. Because there is no legal basis for the right to free choice of seats; rather, the allocation of a seat falls under the "internal school organization".

Can teachers kick students out of the class?

Yes, teachers are allowed to expel students who disrupt the classroom and even lead them out with their own hands. However, they can only do this for their own lesson. If students are to be excluded from classes for a whole day or longer, the school management and possibly a conference must decide on this.

Can teachers yell at students?

Yes and no. It depends on the situation. Teachers must not emotionally hurt or degrade students. When teachers shout, it is important to clarify: does this happen more often? In what situations? If it happens in an exceptional situation, for example because there is a threat of danger, or if the teacher simply tries to drown out the loud students, this is probably not very pedagogical, but it does not harm the children. But if teachers constantly yell at individual students, seemingly for no reason and with humiliating words, that is certainly a case for the school management.

Are teachers allowed to insult students?

No, teachers are not allowed to insult or demean their students. A phrase like "Would stupidity make beautiful if you were George Clooney" could lead to an agency complaint; the student could also display the teacher. If the teacher says "You are telling nonsense", however, it is not punishable if the student has actually spoken nonsense.

Is detention okay during the break?

Teachers are allowed to detain students during the break. If detention lasts longer, i.e. a class, or takes place in the afternoon, the parents must be notified beforehand. Detention is generally allowed as a means of education so that students who are disturbed or who have not done their homework can catch up on the content. Or clean up the room that they made dirty. Often times, students should also reflect on their misconduct in writing. That's okay, but not if it just means pointless copying, like writing down the sentence "I mustn't hit others" a hundred times. Just sitting down is not okay either, because that would be like prison.

Funny anecdotes from school

In "Our math teacher teaches from outside - so that he can smoke!" The funniest school memories and teacher anecdotes of the SPIEGEL readers are gathered - they report on unusual homework, disgusting quirks and funny quirks of their teachers. For example, some classes watch "James Bond" for a whole school year, the next one hauls buckets of water like in the Bolivian jungle. It's about super-committed heroes of the classroom, but also about resigned owls in front of dusty blackboards.

An example? This teacher, for example, has a likeable fanatic - and an ecological mission:

"Our middle school class teacher taught bio and geography. He was a real eco-freak and later also district chairman of the Greens. He often appeared in rubber boots, otherwise he wore Birkenstock slippers because his favorite phrase was: 'There is no bad weather 'just bad clothes.' His idea of ​​a school trip was a walk where we were supposed to help slimy toads cross roads so they wouldn't be run over.When either of us was tired in class, he attributed it to iron deficiency and recommended putting a few rusty nails in To poke an apple and eat it a few days later. That would make us fit again. Of course, no one took that advice. "

lgr / cpa