Swiss school routes spark disputes over safety and distance

School routes in Switzerland are repeatedly challenged over their length, safety or suitability, but authorities do not consider disputes a widespread problem, SRF reports. The issue can also arise when a child is assigned to a particular school.

Thousands of children are starting school for the first time this year. Around 162,000 pupils have begun the school year at public schools in the canton of Zurich, nearly 120,000 children and young people in the canton of Bern, and about 28,500 children in Basel-Stadt, according to cantonal figures.

In Zurich, parents have appealed against a new school assignment, arguing that a seven-minute walk was unreasonable for their child, the Neue Zürcher Zeitung reported. In another case, a court had to decide whether a two-kilometre school route was suitable for an overweight child.

Bern said it was aware of one pending complaint in which the school route could play a role. The city’s education authority mainly deals with temporary routes created by construction work or temporary school buildings, and said it generally had a high level of confidence in the city’s school routes.

Authorities in rural cantons reported a similar picture. Glarus does not currently have any objections concerning school-route distances or suitability, although such questions arise occasionally. In Appenzell Innerrhoden, the head of the public schools office said no related appeal had been submitted in the past 15 years.

Officials were cautious about describing disputes over school routes as an urban phenomenon. Glarus said it lacked comparisons with other rural cantons. Appenzell Innerrhoden said living and traffic conditions varied, and that the question of suitability could also arise there. However, most parents trusted their children to manage the route, even when it was remote.

Zurich’s regulations define the minimum distance at which a walking route is considered very demanding for schoolchildren. For younger primary pupils, the threshold is 1.4 kilometres. Bern said it viewed recommended school routes as important places for children to learn, while the city was responsible for providing routes that were safe and suitable. Responsibility for the individual child remained with the parents or guardians.

Glarus has no legal maximum distance in kilometres. School management or the municipality assesses suitability case by case, taking into account the child’s age, health and development, as well as the terrain and dangers along the route. In Appenzell Innerrhoden, a route is considered unsuitable if it exceeds two kilometres for children up to and including the second year of school, or three kilometres for older children. Municipal school authorities must arrange transport when necessary.