Court case 3L 1028.19 – Court Ruling (Germany, 2020)

The plaintiff visited a school in Berlin where a record with notes from teachers about his behavior was created. The school record contains his insulting statements to classmates and teachers and notes because of disrupted teaching. The student changes the school recently. Were the requirements of Article 17 GDPR fulfilled and would the defendant require to delete the school record? Article 17 (1) (a) GDPR grants a right to delete personal data, if the purpose for which the personal data was collected no longer exists and further storage is no longer necessary. The court did not see such a loss of purpose in this case. The VG held the applicable school regulation against the student and his parents. It stipulates that a change of school does not justify a loss of purpose. According to the school regulation the processing of personal data relating to pupils and legal guardians is necessary for the school to perform its tasks. This applies in particular to students' breaches of duty in order to be able to take the appropriate pedagogical measures and compare them with their effects in the past. The concerned school record shall be kept during the mandatory school period according to the school regulation. Since the student is still obliged to go to school, it can be assumed that the documents collected will continue to serve their purpose. Furthermore, the applicants have not made it credible that the personal data within the meaning of Article 17 (1) (d) GDPR were processed illegally.