Labor party wants to change law so schools can't refuse pupils

The PvdA wants to ban special schools from refusing pupils. Labor leader Lodewijk Asscher submitted a legislative proposal that will anchor the freedom of education in the Constitution. If it is up to him, pupils will have the right to education, and schools will have an obligation to accept them, NOS reports.

"This is necessary to prevent that Article 23 of the Constitution is abused by schools to refuse certain children", Asscher said. According to the PvdA leader, public schools are now too often used as a drain for poorer pupils. This creates inequality and groups problem cases together, he said.

Article 23, which regulates the freedom of education, was intended to allow parents to choose their kids' school based on their ideals, Asscher said. "Now the article is being misused to refuse certain pupils. Because they have a language deficiency, their parents have the wrong faith, or because they can not pay the school. That is why I want to change Article 23."

Changing the Constitutional Article for special education is a sensitive topic, especially among the Christian parties, according to NOS. Whether this legislative proposal will succeed remains to be seen. The Rutte III government parties, which includes two Christian parties, stated in the coalition agreement that the current policy won't change, according to the broadcaster.