Assumption of costs for private education in case of speech disorder

Facts

The complainant, [A.Z.] , requested the school board [X.] to assume the costs for the last three school years of her son [C.Z.] at the Institute for Further Education in Wetzikon (IWW) and to assume the further education costs at the New School Zurich. The son had a speech disorder that was only diagnosed in 1999. The school board [X.] rejected the request, as it had no opportunity to verify the necessity of special school measures and the correctness of the education.

The complainant appealed to the district school board Meilen, which rejected the appeal. The school appeals commission of the canton of Zurich and the administrative court of the canton of Zurich also rejected the complaint. The complainant then filed a constitutional complaint for violation of Art. 9, 19 and 29 para. 2 Cst.

Considerations

The Federal Court examined whether the cantonal authority violated the claim to special education under Art. 19 Cst. It found that the Zurich school legislation fundamentally implements the constitutionally guaranteed claim to special education in a constitutionally conform manner. The question of whether special school measures are indicated is a question of factual assessment, which can only be reviewed by the Federal Court under the aspect of arbitrariness.

The Federal Court came to the conclusion that the cantonal…