The Right to Education

This chapter examines the approach of the European Court of Human Rights to cases concerning children’s education, and the interaction between parental rights and state obligations in this respect. It starts by looking at the jurisprudence concerning state versus private schooling, as well as the compatibility of prohibitions on home schooling with the Convention. It then goes on to consider specialised and segregated schooling, focusing on children with disabilities, migrant children, and ethnic minorities, and in particular the treatment of Roma children. The chapter further analyses the ability of parents to object to the content of education provided by the state, in the context of education in a chosen language, sexual education, and religious education. Finally, this chapter considers how Article 2, Protocol 1 of the Convention has been applied to higher education.