After the death of a 13-year-old with diabetes on a school trip in London, the prosecutor Monchengladbach determined on suspicion of negligent homicide: Teachers or other supervisors should have taken care of the student too late - although classmates should have pointed out that it is the girl do not go well.
The school authority in North Rhine-Westphalia does not comment on the individual case. But the tragic incident raises general questions: What are the duties of teachers on school trips, what do they have to look out for in sick children?
What are the supervisory duties of teachers on a school trip?
Teachers take on school trips - just like in the playground or in the classroom - the same level of responsibility that parents usually carry for their children, explains Volker Busch, Judiciary of the Union Education and Science (GEW).
Details regulate the countries. For example, in the "Guidelines for school trips" from North Rhine-Westphalia it is said that the age and development status, disabilities or chronic illnesses of the pupils are relevant for the type and extent of supervision. Although the children and adolescents would not be permanently cared for, escorts would have to be accessible and responsive at all times.
Do teachers need to ensure that kids eat enough on school trips?
How much children want to eat is up to them, says GEW lawyer Busch. According to the school ministry in North Rhine-Westphalia, however, teachers who are dependent on a regular diet or, as in the case of diabetes, a specific diet would have to make sure that the children's health is not endangered. Concrete guidelines do not give it, as this could be different for each child.
What happens if a child falls ill on a school trip?
The teachers must respond in any case and take appropriate measures, says Busch. It is therefore not possible to leave a sick child to oneself or one's classmates.
Whether teachers can take the right action depends on whether they know about a child's previous illness. Not always parents informed the teachers in advance. For school trips, it also happens that escorts do not know the students, according to Busch.
What obligations do parents have?
Parents need to inform teachers if children have medical conditions that could affect them during class. Only then would teachers have the opportunity to act appropriately, according to the Ministry of Education NRW.
It is not always possible for parents or teachers to expect such a case to occur, says GEW-Justiziar Busch. For example, if the child has a previously unknown food allergy and gets an allergic shock while eating peanuts.
What should be considered with inclusion students or chronically ill children?
On the one hand, dealing here is easier, says Busch, because special needs of students are known and could be communicated. However, teachers can not be required to give children medicines, for example, according to a handout from NRW. All participants - parents, teachers and students - would have to agree.
What are the consequences for teachers of breaching the duty of supervision?
Teachers are one-legged in prison, often talking about the teachers' allegedly difficult-to-fulfill responsibilities. "If it were as bad as flat-rate, no teacher would go on a school trip," says GEW-Justiziar Busch.
Whether or not teachers have violated their duty to watch is usually checked by officials in disciplinary proceedings. Depending on the offense, consequences could be a reprimand, a fine, a demotion or even job loss.
According to the Civil Code, the violation of the duty of supervision can lead to claims for damages. Here, however, the school board is usually liable, not the individual teacher. A serious offense, which may result from the violation of the regulatory obligation, is the negligent homicide, which can be punished with a fine or imprisonment of up to five years.
