Application for adjustments at school for a pupil's disability or impairment (Germany)

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This document is in German

The PDF you download is in German — that is the language it has to be filed in, so it is not translated. Everything on this page is here to tell you what it says.

The application to a school's head in Germany for adjustments (Nachteilsausgleich) for a pupil with a disability, a chronic illness or an impairment such as dyslexia: adapted conditions for tests and exams — more time, breaks, a separate room or aids — without lowering the standard expected. It describes how the impairment affects the pupil's work, the adjustments requested and the period, and encloses a medical or specialist report. Each Land makes its own rules; you choose the Land on the form. Apply in good time before the exams. In German, ready to print, sign and hand in.

What you fill in

The details the document asks for.

  • Sender
  • Sender's address
  • Phone
  • Email
  • School
  • School's postal address
  • City
  • Date
  • German federal state (Land)
  • Pupil
  • Date of birth
  • Class
  • School year
  • How the impairment affects exams
  • Adjustments requested
  • Exams or period the adjustments are for

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Common questions

What evidence does an application for adjustments at a German school need?
A medical or specialist report describing how the impairment affects tests and exams and which adjustments are recommended — for extra time, ideally with a percentage. What matters is the effect, not the diagnosis, and the application need not contain more health data than necessary. Whether the school also accepts a report from the school psychology service depends on the Land.
When should an application for school adjustments in Germany be made?
In good time before the first test or exam the adjustments are to apply to, so that the school can decide and prepare the exam accordingly; final exams may have their own deadlines. The decision is an administrative act: if the application is refused in whole or in part, it can be challenged — how and within what time limit is stated in the notice of remedies (Rechtsbehelfsbelehrung).
Does an adjustment at a German school lower what is expected of the pupil?
No. It adapts the conditions under which work is done — more time, breaks or aids, for example — while the standard expected stays the same. It rests on the ban on disadvantaging anyone because of a disability (Art. 3(3), second sentence, of the German Basic Law) and on the Land's rules, which differ in conditions and procedure. Whether marking itself may differ (Notenschutz) is a separate question each Land settles for itself.

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