Financing - Germany

The basic framework for financing and funding is the yearly education budget of the Federation, the Länder and the local authorities in Germany. The methods of financing education in detail – for example, teaching aids, transport of pupils – differ from Land to Land.

The public-funding arrangements for the education system are the result of decision-making processes in the political and administrative system in which the various forms of public spending on education are apportioned between Federation, Länder and local authorities and according to education policy and objective requirements. Agencies responsible for financing are: government, districts (rural districts and municipalities with the status of a district) and communes. Decisions on the funding of education are taken at all three levels, but over 90% of the funds are provided by the Länder and the local authorities.

Staff costs of teachers (salary and so on) are financed by the Länder. Teachers are employees of the Länder, except in private schools. Non-teaching persons (without the qualification of a teacher), such as social workers, nurses, ‘inclusion-helpers’, support personnel, are financed, as a rule, by the local authorities: the maintaining bodies (Schulträger). They are responsible for funding the material costs and the non-teaching staff payroll.

Regarding transport to and from school, each Länder has its own arrangements. It is generally the responsibility of the districts and municipalities with the status of a district, and in some Länder of the communes individually, to ensure adequate provision for transporting pupils to and from the school they attend. School transport is funded by maintaining bodies (usually the local authority). In most cases subsidies are granted by the Land in question.

The maintaining bodies of private schools receive some financial support from the Länder, in various forms. All of the Länder guarantee standard financial support to schools entitled to such assistance; this includes contributions to the standard staff and running costs.

Special Needs Education has the same mechanism of funding as mainstream education. There is a difference for specialist teachers working in special schools and specialist teachers belonging to special schools, but working in mainstream schools. (The salary is the same.) Some special schools are funded by the local authorities or the communes (except resource centres and schools for learning disabilities, Förderschulen). Other schools are funded by the districts (except schools for intellectually disabled pupils). Supra regional working schools (except schools for the blind and visually impaired and schools for the deaf and hearing impaired) are, as a rule, funded by the Länder.

There have been recent developments concerning the funding of Special Needs Education. Diverse models exist in the Länder. For the process of decision-making, questions that have to be clarified focus upon:

• What kind of measures would be best for the pupil?
• Which type of school is required?
• How suitable are the conditions relating to personal support/assistance, organisation of the school etc.?
• What would benefit/enhance the performance of the pupil?
• What conditions are necessary to obtain access?
• Does he or she need extra materials?
• What other financial considerations concerning facilities need to be taken into account?
• What is required to enhance each pupil’s performance?
• What level of intensity of special education is required by the particular pupil?
• The question of additional needs, such as technical aids, transport, necessity of school attendants, questions of architectural changes for better access etc. If there is a necessity for additional funding – more than the normal education funding – in this case the maintaining school bodies  and/or the Social and Welfare Office share the responsibility.

Within the scope of measures for the integration of disabled persons under Book Twelve of the Social Code (Sozialgesetzbuch XII – Sozialhilfe –), pupils with special educational needs receive financial assistance in order to provide them with an adequate school education, especially with regard to the period of compulsory schooling and the attendance of a general education school at secondary level.

In some cases, there is mixed funding between Social Code IX  (Children and Adults Welfare §35A) and XII. There are also regional differences in decision-making concerning funding in the Länder of the Federal Republic of Germany. The organisation of the decision-making concerning the allocation of the conditions and funds and the decision about the type of support for specific pupils is handled differently in the Länder. In some Länder, co-ordinating committees – support committees, Förderausschuss – consult and make a proposal. This proposal is the basis for the decision by the school administration, under consideration of the particular school law and recommendations of each Land.

In some Länder, the funding system for pupils with SEN is undergoing a process of change. The focus of the modification is to move responsibility from the Land to the district and from the district to the schools so as to facilitate the process of inclusion. However, this process is not comparable in all of the different Länder.

As a further reference source, please see: ‘The Education System in the Federal Republic of Germany’. Information Dossier for the Education Network in the European Union. Secretariat of the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany, Bonn, 1996 (in co-operation with EURYDICE) and: The Education System in the Federal Republic of Germany 2006. A description of the responsibilities, structures and developments in education policy for the exchange of information in Europe, KMK, Bonn 2008.

The level of early years education is not part of the public school system, and kindergarten attendance is generally not free of charge. Institutions providing pre-primary education are funded by public and non-public bodies (local authorities, church etc.). As a rule, organising bodies of both voluntary sector and public child and youth welfare services receive financial support from the Länder for the material and staffing costs of the Kindergärten. In addition, parental contributions are levied to help cover costs; this depends on parents’ financial circumstances.

Transition period: Based on legal regulations on the part of the Federation (Federal Training Assistance Act – Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz) pupils from grade 10 onwards at general and vocational secondary schools are entitled to financial support from the state in the form of a grant, if they have no other means (mainly from their parents’ income) of maintenance and financing training. Financial support is also possible by the Office of Employment.