Faith or belief in a supernatural power or higher being. - Hamburg schools prohibit wearing face coverings.
In the city of Hamburg, it's against the rules for students to wear face-covering attire in the classroom. This regulation has been in place since June 2022 after being passed by the red-green coalition along with the CDU and the AfD. It encompasses not only classes but also all school functions. This law was inspired by a decision made by the Hamburg Administrative Court back in 2020. The court decided that it was unlawful to bar a 16-year-old Muslim girl from wearing a face veil in school, as there was no legal justification for it. Recently, there have been around ten instances where girls with face veils attended classes in the city.
To clarify the new guidelines, the school authorities have sent out a letter to all schools. They stated that wearing a niqab or any other face veil is not permitted, but wearing a headscarf that leaves the face visible, from the eyebrows down to the lower chin, is acceptable. The use of masks for medical purposes, such as during the corona pandemic, is also permitted. The letter mentioned that if a person consistently wears a medical mask and it doesn't seem to be a situational choice, it could be assumed that they have health concerns.
The school authorities also want to make sure that this new law doesn't lead to social isolation or separation of pupils. So, the affected students should receive individual academic assistance, and conversations with their parents are encouraged. However, the authorities also made it clear that if there are repeated violations of the law, disciplinary measures can be taken, including fines.
For students who are required to attend school, potential consequences could be a reprimand in writing and being excluded from a school trip or from classes for up to ten days. For students who are no longer bound to compulsory schooling, they could potentially be expelled from the school entirely. Additionally, a fine might be considered for anyone deliberately violating these regulations, including their legal guardians.
The topic of veiling in school education is a constantly debated issue in Germany. As the education system is under the jurisdiction of the federal states, the regulations surrounding it vary between states. Bavaria and Lower Saxony were the first states to outlaw full facial veiling in 2017 by amending their school laws.
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Despite the ban on face coverings in schools, the CDU and AfD in Hamburg supported the rule, citing a court decision from 2020. This regulation extends to all school functions and even has provisions for medical masks. To minimize social isolation, affected students receive academic assistance and parental meetings are encouraged.
Controversy over face veiling in schools is not exclusive to Hamburg; it's a widely debated issue across Germany. Bavaria and Lower Saxony were among the first states to prohibit full facial veiling in schools in 2017.
Religion often influences debates on school attire, as the Hamburg Administrative Court noted in its 2020 decision concerning a Muslim girl's right to wear a face veil in school.
