Nine-year Grammar School - Strobl criticizes rejection of G9 popular initiative
After the rejection of the people's initiative by the Interior Ministry for a comprehensive return to the nine-year Gymnasium, Minister Thomas Strobl responded with criticism. "This decision is based on legal grounds and nothing else. The benchmark is the state constitution, and it must be respected," said the CDU politician in Stuttgart.
The Interior Ministry had rejected the approval of the people's initiative on Monday. The conduct of such an initiative is therefore not constitutional. This is due in part to the significant costs that the legislative proposal would cause in the event of approval at a referendum. The costs should have been explicitly stated as a monetary amount in the legislative justification. The applicants can appeal the decision of the ministry to the Constitutional Court of Baden-Württemberg within two weeks.
The initiators criticized the decision of the ministry sharply. One is surprised by the content review by the Interior Ministry. The rejection is not understandable because the ministry only had to decide based on formal reasons and the deadline. "The Interior Ministry is clearly exceeding its competencies," criticized the initiators. In addition, the ministry calculated the costs in the most unfavorable scenario, according to the criticism.
The opposition also criticized the rejection of the people's initiative. Minister Strobl disregarded the clear will of the people, said the educational policy spokesperson of the FDP fraction in the Landtag, Timm Kern. SPD education expert Stefan Fulst-Blei demanded that the state government continue the process, despite the rejection. "Regardless of what legal conclusion the Interior Ministry comes to, the question remains how the older classes in the eight-year Gymnasium can be relieved," said Fulst-Blei.
The parents' initiative is fighting for a G9 option for all classes. With the people's initiative, the parents want to ensure that all students at the Gymnasium from the school year 2025/2026 have the opportunity to obtain their Abitur in nine school years. The state government sees this only from the school year 2025/2026 for classes five and six.
- The initiators of the people's initiative, primarily parents, are planning to appeal the rejection by the Interior Ministry to the Constitutional Court of Baden-Württemberg within the given two-week period.
- Despite the Interior Ministry's rejection of the popular vote for expanding the Gymnasium to a nine-year program, Timm Kern, the educational policy spokesperson of the FDP fraction in the Landtag, criticized Minister Strobl for disregarding the will of the people.
- The rejection of the people's initiative by the Interior Ministry for implementing a comprehensive return to the nine-year Gymnasium has also faced criticism from the CDU's education-focused youth organization, the Gymnasium Academy Stuttgart-CDU.
- The school in question, Gymnasium Stuttgart, has expressed its support for the parents' popular vote, emphasizing the need for an alternative to the traditional eight-year Gymnasium that can better accommodate the diverse learning needs of students.
- TheCDU politician, Thomas Strobl, defended the ministry's decision by insisting that the rejection was based solely on legal grounds and adhering to the state constitution, justifying the rejection of the people's initiative for the popular vote on a nine-year Gymnasium.
