Parents head for court over lack of “appropriate” schools

An organisation representing the parents of children who do not attend school because no appropriate institution has been found for them, is taking the Dutch state to court, saying their children’s rights are being infringed.

Last month, the education ministry said that some 16,000 children did not attend school in the 2024–25 academic year, a rise of 9% on the year before. Almost 5,000 children were enrolled in a school but had been absent for more than four weeks.

“For years we have seen how children who get stuck in the regular system lose confidence in themselves, in schooling and even in their own futures,” Joli Luijckx, director of parents’ association Oudervereniging Balans, said in a statement.

Balans estimates that some 70,000 children are not in formal education.

“Parents and children are asking for real change, not empty promises,” Luijckx said. “That is why we are taking legal action. We want the government to live up to its responsibilities, so that every child gets the education that meets their needs.”

Junior education minister Judith Tielen told the paper that every child had the right to a good education and that this is something everyone is working towards. Reforms are underway that require every school to be “inclusive” by 2035, she said.