Agreement on school place allocation in Jena

The Thuringian Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, the East Thuringian State Education Authority and the city of Jena have agreed on a new regulation for the allocation of school places at Jena's community schools. The agreement was reached on 08.04.2026 in a meeting initiated by Education Minister Christian Tischner. A corresponding general decree is to be published in the official gazette of the TMBWK at the end of April and come into force on 01.05.2026 - in good time before the start of school registrations for the 2027/2028 school year.

"It was important to me that we quickly find a viable solution to this issue, which is a burden for many families. We have succeeded. In close cooperation with the city of Jena and the education authority, we have developed a regulation that is legally secure and at the same time does justice to the educational diversity of Jena's school landscape. This diversity is a personal concern of mine and a value that we want to strengthen," explains Education Minister Christian Tischner.

The new regulation is based on Section 15a (8) of the Thuringian School Act. In future, families who express a particular interest in the reform pedagogical concept or the special profile of a community school can be considered as part of a quota of 25 percent of the available places. The prerequisite for this is an actual expression of interest from parents as part of the application process. The sibling regulation will be strengthened compared to the previous statutory basic regulation. Hardship cases will continue to be given priority.

"This agreement shows what can be achieved when the city, parents and state pull together. Many stakeholders in Jena have driven the dialog and contributed constructive solutions - we were able to build on this. In this way, we are creating more clarity, fairness and reliable framework conditions for families. The solution ensures freedom of choice, good education and the diversity of our school landscape," says Johannes Schleußner, head of Jena's education department.

The previous general ruling from 2023 was deemed formally unlawful by the Gera Administrative Court. As a result, the education authority had changed the admission procedures to the direct legal basis, which had led to uncertainty among parents and schools. The new regulation creates planning security for the upcoming admission procedures.