Facts
A.A., a student with autism spectrum disorder, has attended the regular class since the 2009/2010 school year. For the 2012/2013 school year, the school board approved 18 hours per week of assistance, and the parents had to finance the additional hours for full-time accompaniment. The parents filed a complaint and demanded cost coverage for all necessary assistance lessons.
Considerations
The Federal Court ruled that sufficient basic education for disabled children must be provided free of charge, even if the school provides additional services not legally required. Limiting the assistance lessons to a legal maximum of 18 hours per week, without considering the child's best interests in the individual case, is contrary to federal law requirements.
The Federal Court stated that for disabled children, a higher level of effort is regularly required within the framework of sufficient basic education in order to compensate for their disability-related disadvantages. As long as integration into the regular…