Overview

• The Bayerischer Verwaltungsgerichtshof ordered the removal of a 150 cm by 50 cm wooden crucifix at the main entrance of a state gymnasium for breaching negative freedom of religion.
• Two former students told the court they were repeatedly exposed to the religious symbol through mandatory school attendance without any viable way to avoid it.
• The ruling invoked the 1995 Federal Constitutional Court’s Kruzifixbeschluss, which prohibits mandatory crucifixes in state school classrooms.
• Bavarian education law requires crosses in primary school classrooms when parents do not object but contains no regulation for gymnasiums.
• The decision cannot be revised, though the plaintiffs may file a complaint with a higher court within one week.