Legal Aspects of Parental Responsibility in the Education of a Child

Abstract

In the Latvian education system, the legal relationship between parents and the school is important. The child’s parents are obliged to take the child to school. It means that the State implements an education policy in line with both the findings based on educational science and that the child’s right to education is ensured at least at the basic school level. In Latvia, education law as a branch of law is an underdeveloped field. The legal relationship between children’s parents and the educational institution has been little studied from the legal science perspective. Thus, in this study, the author analyzes the role of the institute of parental responsibility in the field of education, using the methods of interpretation of general science and law – historical, grammatical and teleological methods. It is found that the special legal regulation of Latvia determines specific parental responsibilities and rights in providing education for their child. Teachers do not become substitutes for the child’s parents, but have a duty to do so as responsible and caring parent would do to their children. Parental authority does not end when the child enters the school premises, but it is limited to the extent that the educational institution fulfills its responsibilities by ensuring an educational process in accordance with the child’s interests and human rights.