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The case of a five-year-old in the Canton of Zurich shows just how controversial the assessment of school readiness can be.
Keystone
A family from the canton of Zurich wanted their daughter to skip her second year of kindergarten. But neither the school authorities nor the courts saw sufficient grounds for this—not even the Federal Supreme Court.
The dispute over the educational path of a five-year-old in the canton of Zurich has been heard by every court—from the school board to the Federal Supreme Court. The parents wanted their daughter to move directly from her first year of kindergarten to first grade, skipping the second year of kindergarten.
They justified their request by arguing that the girl was underchallenged in kindergarten and had her assessed for giftedness. She perceived children her age as immature and felt she was not sufficiently challenged. The kindergarten teacher only partially agreed with this assessment: while the child was cognitively ready for first grade, she was not yet emotionally ready.
Following the assessments, two different recommendations were made. While a privately commissioned specialist confirmed a high IQ and advocated for early transition, the school psychology service recommended another year of kindergarten.
The Primary School Board rejected the request in April 2025. Appeals to the Dielsdorf District Council and later to the Zurich Administrative Court were unsuccessful. The Administrative Court held that there is no legal right to early admission to primary school. Furthermore, the child and parents had been sufficiently involved in the decision-making process.
Now the Federal Supreme Court has also declined to hear the appeal, as reported by the “Tages-Anzeiger.” It justified this by stating that the matter involved a professional assessment of the child’s cognitive as well as emotional and social abilities.
Such assessments cannot be reviewed by the Federal Supreme Court. Furthermore, the family has since moved. Consequently, the school in the new municipality is responsible for the child’s placement, and it was not involved in the previous proceedings.
The legal dispute has cost the parents dearly: after 1,000 francs before the District Council and 2,200 francs before the Administrative Court, they now face an additional 1,000 francs in court costs before the Federal Supreme Court. The ruling indicates that the child has already been assigned to a class at the new place of residence. Whether this is kindergarten or first grade remains unclear.
Legal disputes, however, occur time and again in Swiss schools. For example, parents who extended their stay in the Caribbean and consequently withdrew their children from school ended up in court. The Zurich High Court ultimately acquitted the parents.
Disputes over grades or expulsion from high school also regularly occupy the courts. In the canton of Zug , for example, parents went to court because their son was to be expelled from high school. The case ultimately reached the Federal Supreme Court, which finally dismissed the appeal filed by the student and his parents
