Thuringia's Ministry of Education is planning constitutional coaches in schools

The Ministry of Education wants to bring so-called constitutional coaches into Thuringia's schools. “In the future, these coaches will provide schools with even more concrete support in dealing with democracy education and anti-democratic tendencies,” said the ministry. The use of such coaches is being prepared through a cooperation with the University of Jena. The ministry initially did not provide any further details.

In addition, the so-called constitutional quarter hour is to be expanded this fall. This was introduced in some schools at the beginning of the year in order to strengthen the political education of students. The aim is to talk about the values ​​of the constitution based on the students' everyday experiences. In the future, the constitutional quarter hour should be available in all Thuringian schools, Education Minister Christian Tischner (CDU) said at the introduction.

The ministry has now put together an overview of free advice and prevention offers for schools when dealing with extremism. Teachers, school management and educational teams can access the handout on the ministry's website.

“Where hatred, agitation or anti-constitutional symbols become visible in everyday school life, teachers must not remain alone,” said Tischner, according to the statement. The ministry provides teachers with permanent contact persons and practical training courses. “A democratic school culture does not emerge on its own,” emphasized Tischner.

“Special incidents” - cases of sedition in schools

Over the past year, schools reported 101 suspected offenses related to right-wing extremism, in which students used swastikas or other symbols of unconstitutional or terrorist organizations, or made seditious or anti-Semitic comments. In 2024 there were 120 such crimes, and a year earlier there were 73, which were classified by the right as politically motivated crime. This emerges from answers from the Ministry of Education to parliamentary questions from Left-wing state parliament member Katharina König-Preuss.

The management of state schools is obliged to report “anti-constitutional statements or the use of relevant symbolism, violent attacks and activities contrary to the free-democratic basic order” to the Ministry of Education as “special incidents”. According to the ministry, school management decides, depending on the case, which educational or regulatory measures will be taken and whether a report will be made to the police.