Facts

On April 24, 1956, the Education Council of the Canton of Zurich granted the French Consulate General in Zurich the permit to operate a private school at the primary school level for foreign students of French mother tongue temporarily residing in the Canton of Zurich. Instruction could be provided in the French language, according to the French curriculum and using French teaching materials, but with the proviso that after two years, an introduction to the German language had to be provided to enable the transfer to a Zurich public school or secondary schools.

Upon the request of the Association de l'Ecole française, which had taken over the operation of the school, the Education Council also recognized the Ecole française on July 16, 1957, as a private school for Swiss children of French mother tongue. The association was required to structure the curriculum and educational objectives in accordance with the public school and to promote the students' proficiency in the German language to the extent that they could follow the instruction of the class corresponding to their age in the public school without difficulty after two years.

On June 4, 1964, the Cantonal Government ordered that the Association de l'Ecole française be granted the permit to provide instruction in French to students of French mother tongue (Swiss and foreign nationals) under the following conditions:

  • Students of French mother tongue for whom a permanent stay in the Canton of Zurich is out of the question or unlikely can be admitted to the school for the duration of their presence in the Canton of Zurich.
  • Other students of French mother tongue can be admitted for a period of two years. The school attendance can be extended to a maximum of three years in exceptional cases for special reasons.
  • After the expiration of the permit, the transfer to a public or private school with German as the language of instruction must take place.
  • The instruction must correspond to the educational objectives and curriculum of the public primary school. The students are to be promoted in the German language to the extent that they can follow the instruction in a class corresponding to their age in the public school after two years.
  • Admission to the school requires prior authorization from the School Office of the City of Zurich.

Considerations

The Federal Supreme Court notes that the permit to operate a private school under Zurich law is to be qualified as a police permit. A constitutional appeal…