Saxony introduces action plan to combat school extremism

The state government of Saxony has introduced a 15-point action plan to combat rising extremism in schools. This initiative follows data from the Saxon Ministry of the Interior showing a significant increase in politically motivated crimes. In 2025, police recorded 335 such offenses at schools, more than triple the number reported in 2021. Of these, 214 were attributed to the right-wing spectrum.

The plan, presented by the Ministers of Education, Interior, Justice, and Social Affairs, focuses on pedagogical approaches and prevention. Key measures include training teachers to better recognize unconstitutional symbols and statements, increasing media literacy among students, and providing more education on democracy. Additionally, all school administrators will be sensitized to handling extremist incidents at the start of the new school year.

While there has been discussion regarding whether classrooms should lose their status as legally protected spaces to facilitate easier prosecution of vandalism, Saxon officials have decided to maintain the current legal protections for classrooms. Instead, the government aims to protect children and adolescents through early prevention and resilience building.