Amboise: parents of high school students compensated after the long absence of a teacher

"It was not a venal intention." In a decision handed down on Friday, February 21, the administrative court of Orléans ordered the French state to pay compensation of 800 euros to each family affected by the long-term absence of a French teacher during the 2022-2023 school year at the Léonard de Vinci high school in Amboise, in Indre-et-Loire.

As France Bleu indicates, this compensation is made for moral and financial damage. In total, for some students, 58 hours of lessons in this subject were not provided.

"The repercussions are minor, the damage is real. There are students who will be able to compensate, others who simply won't," Sébastien Boishult, one of the complaining parents, lamented to the regional media, despite the victory in court.

It was during the summer of 2023 that around ten families decided to take the matter to court by filing a complaint. Only the latter received financial compensation.

According to the plaintiffs, this unreplaced absence widens gaps between high school students and distorts equality of opportunity, particularly in the year when first-year students must take the early French baccalaureate exams.

While some families were able to pay for private lessons for their children, not all had the means. "It opens the door to segregation through money. What the public service is supposed to remedy is to preserve this equality of opportunity," Sébastien Boishult told France Bleu.

Speaking to TF1 , these families who were able to employ a private tutor are also happy about this compensation. "It cost us 700 euros, I think, and now, the fact that it is compensated a little bit helps to cover the costs," explains a student.

This is not the first time that the State has been condemned for moral and financial damage in similar situations. In September 2023, it was the Paris administrative court that ordered the payment of 1,360 euros for 136 hours of lessons lost by a middle school student due to lack of replacement during the 2021-2022 school year.

In 2017, the Cergy-Pontoise court recognized damages to parents of students for 96 hours of lost lessons, awarding them 96 euros. The same court ruled on a dozen cases in April 2024.