Art. 28. [State supervision of schools] The school system is under the supervision of the state.
Art. 29. [Private schools] Private schools can be established on the basis of state permits and can be operated with adherence to the conditions demanded by the law. Details are determined by the law, taking into account the will of the legal guardians.
Art. 30. [Obligatory school attendance-Schulpflicht] There is a general obligation to attend school. Details are determined by the law.
Art. 31. [Cost-free teaching and learning materials, support for the gifted] The public school system should be given an organic structure.
Education at all public schools is free.
Teaching and learning materials will be provided free of charge.
Lower-income students of the requisite abilities are to be given the opportunity, beyond the general obligation to attend school, to attend a higher school, a college, or a university through grants and other measures. Details are regulated by the law.
Art. 32. [Gemeinschaftsschulen, religious instruction] The general education public schools are nondenominational schools with confessionally non-specific instruction in Biblical history on a general Christian basis.
Instruction in Biblical history will be given only by teachers who have agreed to do so. The legal guardians decide whether the children participate in this instruction.
Churches, religious and ideological communities have the right, outside of school hours, to provide instruction in their creed or ideology to those children whose legal guardians so desire.
Art. 33. [Demand for toleration] The principle of toleration prevails in all schools. In each case, the teacher must show consideration for the religious and ideological sensitivities of all students.
Art. 34. [Universities] Universities are generally state-run. They can also be established and maintained in conjunction with other states or as a branch of the university of another state.
Art. 35. [Adult education] All adults are to be given the opportunity to continue their education through public institutions.
Art. 36. [Youth organizations] The state accords youth organizations protection and support.
[ . . . ]
Source: Christian Pestalozza, ed., Verfassungen der Deutschen Bundesländer. Gesetze über die Landesverfassungsgerichte, Grundgesetze [Constitutions of the German Federal States. Laws on the State Constitutional Courts, Basic Laws]. Munich: Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1988, pp. 151-58.
Translation: Thomas Dunlap
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