Two teenagers mistakenly assigned to a school 45 minutes by public transport from their home

The college the two middle school students were assigned to was not the right one based on their parents' place of residence. Illustration MAXPPP – Luc Nobout

Two teenagers were mistakenly assigned to a middle school. As a result, they had to travel 45 minutes by public transport every morning to get to class. The courts cancelled the assignment decided by the National Education system.

This is a rare decision: the courts have ruled in favor of two middle school students who had been assigned by the National Education system “by mistake” to a school located too far from their home.

A brother and sister, enrolled in 5th and 3rd grade at the start of the school year, learned in July that they had been assigned to the Plessis-Robinson middle school in Hauts-de-Seine, and not to the one in Colombes, in the same department, explains Actu.

However, a family move in 2024 tied these two students to the Colombes college. With this bad assignment, the two students therefore found themselves having to take 45 minutes of public transport to get to the Plessis-Robinson college.

Safety risks

The interim relief judge, who examined the case, indicated that this " “erroneous assignment” could have “serious and immediate consequences” on the safety of schoolchildren. The Justice has therefore suspended the assignment decided by the National Education services.

The magistrate, quoted by Actu, therefore indicates that the suspension implies a new assignment to the right college, "provisionally" and this "until rsquo;until the legality of the decision has been decided on the merits”. The State will also have to pay 1,000 euros to parents of students to cover legal costs.