Their families now have to pay €88.50 each for unexcused absences, as the responsible regional council in Karlsruhe confirmed. The parents were fined as they had not previously made an "Antrag auf Befreiung vom Unterricht", or a request to be able to skip school. In a letter to the newspaper, the families also referred ironically to the namesake of the school: the historical Scholl siblings. This could be the first case in which climate activists were fined by their school, despite an outcry earlier this month that schools around Germany would begin fining their students for missing class. Launched by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg, 'Fridays for Future' has seen pupils "strike" against school teaching each Friday for months across Europe, including all over Germany.

Source: The Local July 18, 2019 12:11 UTC