Know Your Rights: My Right to Education

This factsheet is an extract from the publication Know Your Rights: The Rights of Children and Young People published by the Children’s Rights Alliance. It is reproduced here with their kind permission. Know Your Rights is a public information project designed to inform everyone, in plain language, of the rights and entitlements children have in Ireland and where to go when they are not respected.

All children and young people in Ireland have the right to access free primary education. This right is protected under the Irish Constitution and Irish law. The Government is required to make sure that everyone living in Ireland is guaranteed a certain standard and level of education that meets their needs and abilities. This right is generally defined as covering primary and second-level education.

Know Your Rights: My Right to Education

• Do you have to go to school in Ireland?
• Can I choose what secondary school I go to?
• What subjects do I have to take in secondary school in Ireland?
• Can a teacher search my belongings in school?
• What secondary school can I go to if I have additional educational needs?
• What childcare am I entitled to in Ireland?