School authorities have room for manoeuvre in terms of how they organise their catering services. The Administrative Court of Freiburg has now pointed this out in an urgent ruling (press release dated 26/05/2026 on the ruling from 16/05/2025, ref. 2 K 1477/25). In doing so, they dismissed the urgent appeal by parents who had filed a complaint against the lunchtime programme at their child's all-day school. A vegetarian or vegan lunch is offered there on three out of four days and fish or meat on only one day. However, the parents wanted their child to have a meal with fish or meat on each of the four days, citing the threat of malnutrition and intolerances, among other reasons.

The court has now rejected the application. In particular, it also pointed out that school authorities have room for manoeuvre when it comes to providing and organising their meal services. In view of the planned expansion of all-day programmes and the gradual planned legal entitlement to all-day care from the 2026/2027 school year, this decision is likely to be of increasing relevance beyond this case.