WHEN SCHOOLS HAVE TO BE LEGAL EAGLES The Ombudsman criticised the errors which the school had made in the process but not the actual decision to transfer the boy to another school. PUNCHING A TEACHER LED TO ONE-ON-ONE SCHOOLING In a third case, a boy in preschool found the transition from kindergarten to school and after-school care facility difficult. The boy was ‘overly challenged in the school environment’ and was involved in several incidents where he reacted violently. At one time, he punched a teacher in the stomach, and this made the school headmaster monitor the boy’s schooling. Afterwards, the school decided that the boy would receive individual tuition (one-on-one schooling) until there was an opening at a special needs school. The Ombudsman found the decision to be of such a far-reaching nature that it was a decision within the meaning of the Public Administration Act. And therefore, the school ought to have consulted the parties first and then given the reasons for its decision. The Ombudsman also stated that the school should have been more careful to record in writing conversations and meetings about the boy (the duty to take notes pursuant to the Access to Public Administration Files Act). As in the other two cases, the Ombudsman could not criticise the results of the case. In continuation of the three cases, one might ask if the schools’ errors were not simply unimportant details, especially since the Ombudsman could not criticise the decisions? The short answer is no: Although there were no grounds for criticising the actual decision in the three specific cases, generally speaking the basic provisions within administrative law enable authorities to make correct and lawful decisions. Besides, a proper process also ensures that the citizens understand to a larger extent the contents of and the background for decisions – even if the decisions go against them. THE ART OF DETERMINING WHEN YOU ARE MAKING A DECISION WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION ACT In the three cases, the schools most likely did not realise that – by implementing rather far-reaching measures – they had made decisions within the meaning of the Public Administration Act. There are probably several reasons for this. 45