Are there any differences for primary and secondary school?
The school laws of the federal states define more or less concretely which areas of the school are given heat-free access and under which conditions. A few federal states divide the first level of secondary education from the second level, and the second level, i.e. the upper level, is even banned from heat-free schools in North Rhine-Westphalia. In other federal states, such as Hesse or Lower Saxony, only the attendance for secondary level 1 is regulated, so that the upper level is dismissed at the discretion of the principal.
In Hesse, heat-free is regulated for the primary and middle school (secondary level 1). Lessons may be looser, homework is not required and lessons are terminated after the fifth hour. The situation is similar in Lower Saxony, where it is stipulated that the principal may give heat-free lessons to secondary level 1.
North Rhine-Westphalia also allows secondary level 1 to give heat-free at the discretion of the principal, while secondary level 2 is forbidden to give heat-free according to the school law. Primary school children are therefore dismissed from school at the discretion of the principal in most federal states in the event of high temperatures. The differences between elementary school and secondary level 1 differ significantly in federal states such as North Rhine-Westphalia.
All articles in this series: