Home schooling; application for granting

The lessons should enable the school to fulfill its educational mission, taking into account the illness or accommodation and the inability to attend school, prepare for reintegration into normal school life, distract from the illness and strengthen the will to recover. If a change of school career is planned due to the illness or special educational needs, particularly in the area of emotional and social development, home schooling should prepare for this.

Home schooling is only given if pupils are able to do so due to their state of health and if this does not endanger the health of the teachers.

Home instruction may be provided at the request of the legal guardians, the student of legal age, or at the school’s initiative. If home instruction is provided at the school’s initiative, home visits are permitted only with the consent of the parents or the student of legal age. In the absence of such consent, home instruction may only be provided as distance learning, § 1(3) of the Home Instruction Ordinance (HUnterrV) (in the version effective as of August 1, 2026).

In principle, the schools that the entitled students would attend if they were not ill (main schools) are responsible for providing home schooling. If there is an important reason to deviate from this responsibility or if a main school is unable to provide home schooling, the ministerial representatives determine the responsible school in the case of Realschulen, Gymnasien, Fachoberschulen and Berufsoberschulen, and the governments determine the responsible school in the case of other schools.

Where possible, lessons should also be supported by the use of electronic data communication, in particular to maintain contact with the home school, and should also be given by means of distance learning.

Home schooling can be applied for if a pupil

• is expected to be unable to attend lessons at school for more than six weeks (including any necessary stay in hospital) due to illness,
• has to miss lessons on a recurring basis due to a long-term illness or
• is likely to spend more than six weeks in a youth welfare facility depriving them of their liberty.

• Application for the provision of home schooling for the instruction of pupils in youth welfare facilities deprived of their liberty in accordance with Section 1 (1) No. 3 in conjunction with Section 6 (2) sentence 1 half-sentence 2 of the Home Schooling Ordinance
• Application for home schooling

• Art. 23 Bavarian Law on Education and Teaching (BayEUG)
• Ordinance on home schooling (Home Schooling Ordinance - HUnterrV)

Home instruction may be provided at the request of the legal guardians, the student of legal age, or at the school’s initiative. If home instruction is provided at the school’s initiative, home visits are permitted only with the consent of the parents or the student of legal age. If such consent is not provided, home instruction may only be provided as distance learning.

The decision on the provision of home schooling is made for pupils

• of primary and secondary schools by the state education authority with the approval of the government,
• of Realschulen, Gymnasien, Fachoberschulen and Berufsoberschulen of the principal with the approval of the ministerial representative within the framework of the funds made available by the government,
• of the other schools by the principal with the approval of the government.

The governments (for pupils in primary and secondary schools and other schools) and the ministerial commissioners (for pupils in Realschulen, Gymnasien, Fachoberschulen and Berufsoberschulen) decide on the provision of home schooling in hospitals or comparable institutions and on home schooling in youth welfare institutions that deprive pupils of their liberty.

The home school informs the parent/guardian of the decision and provides home schooling.

The provision of home schooling is permitted within the framework of regular lessons, overtime, part-time teaching in a civil servant or employment relationship. The authorizing body has broad pedagogical discretion when approving the scope of home schooling. The scope specified in § 6 para. 2 sentence 1 of the Home Instruction Ordinance must be observed, whereby the planned teaching hours can only be used in full for group lessons. It should also be noted that home schooling should, where possible, be supported by the use of electronic data communication, in particular to maintain contact with the home school, and also be provided by means of distance learning.

The home school forwards an application submitted by the parents or the student of legal age to the appropriate authority, unless the home school makes the decision itself or the application requires approval.

Home instruction is provided as part of regular class hours, overtime, or part-time teaching by civil servants or employees, § 7(2) HUnterrV.