Son expelled from high school Parents go all the way to the Federal Supreme Court over poor grades

After transferring to grammar school, a twelve-year-old was unable to cope with the new challenges. His parents thought otherwise and took the matter all the way to the Federal Supreme Court.

They did not want to accept that their son would be expelled from grammar school because of his grades: So a family from Zug sued their way through all instances. The case finally ended up before the Federal Supreme Court, which has now finally dismissed the appeal by the pupil and his parents, as reported by the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper.

This was preceded by years of litigation. The then twelve-year-old boy had transferred to the Zug cantonal school in 2020. He was only provisionally graduated after the first semester. Because his grades did not improve in the second semester either, he was told he had to leave the school with his second report card.

His parents did not agree with this. A clarification with the principal was unsuccessful and they took legal action. The Federal Supreme Court has now ruled in favor of the school: the now 16-year-old must definitely leave the grammar school, which he had previously continued to attend due to the suspensive effect of the appeal. His parents have to pay the court costs of 2,000 francs.

Lawyers are threatened more often in cities

The Zug education department told the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper that parents have filed lawsuits in the canton of Zug a few times in recent years over the assessment of their children's performance. However, the fact that a case has been taken to the Federal Supreme Court is a first.

Thomas Minder, President of the Association of Swiss Head Teachers, confirmed that schools throughout Switzerland are being kept busy by parents filing complaints. Especially in urban areas, the threat of a lawyer is quickly made. "Conflicts typically occur more frequently at higher school levels - and when decisions are tight."

Principal president urges respectful treatment

Such cases are stressful for teaching staff. In the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper, Minder calls for a respectful and trusting relationship between teaching staff and parents. This includes teachers explaining plausibly how they arrive at their assessment of pupils' performance: "Not for legal reasons, but out of respect for pupils and parents."

In the case of the high school student from Zug, the parents had argued that the school had breached its duty to keep records. Without a copy of the exams, it would not be possible to check how the grades were arrived at retrospectively. The Federal Supreme Court did not agree with this argument: because the pupil had received the originals of his exams back, the family would have been able to trace how the grades were arrived at.