The Bundestag debated an Alternative for Germany (AfD) motion on September 24, 2026. The AfD motion blames immigration for Germany’s falling PISA scores.
The CDU/CSU, the Greens, the SPD, and the Left all rejected the AfD motion’s immigration framing. The Bundestag sent the motion to committee for more debate.
The AfD Motion Demands Three Changes to German School Policy
The AfD filed motion 21/8120 on September 22, 2026. The motion asks for three changes to German school policy:
- Education studies would have to track the link between immigrant student numbers and PISA scores.
- Every child would have to pass a German-language check before starting regular primary school.
- Schools would be allowed to group students into classes by performance and language level.
The AfD motion calls mass immigration (Masseneinwanderung) “the decisive factor” behind Germany’s PISA declines. Germany’s PISA scores fell in reading, mathematics, and science.
Every Other Major Party Rejected the AfD Motion’s Immigration Framing
The Bundestag debate on the AfD motion ran 30 minutes. Speakers from the CDU/CSU, the Greens, and the SPD all opposed the AfD motion:
- Christoph Naser, Wolfgang Dahler, and Ellen Demuth (CDU/CSU)
- Lamya Kaddor (Greens)
- Katrin Zschau (SPD)
Full transcripts of the CDU/CSU, Greens, and SPD speeches have not been published yet. The Bundestag lists only video recordings of each speech.
The Left’s education spokesperson Nicole Gohlke called the AfD motion’s immigration framing misleading. She argued that Germany’s education gap comes down to income, not ethnic origin. In Gohlke’s words, the gaps “run not between different ethnic origins… but between top and bottom.”
Gohlke cited the PISA study, which found that social background shapes school success in Germany more strongly than in any other Western OECD country.
Gohlke also described Germany’s education gap as a structural crisis at least 60 years old, not a result of recent immigration.
The AfD Motion Goes to Committee and Does Not Change School Rules Yet
The Bundestag handed the AfD motion to its Committee for Education, Family, Seniors, Women, and Youth. No Bundestag vote has been scheduled yet, so the motion stays in committee.
The committee review is still worth keeping an eye on. Federal Education Minister Karin Prien (CDU) has also called for mandatory language tests for all four-year-olds nationwide.
Right now, no new German-language check or enrollment rule applies to your child. Bavaria, for example, requires a language check before school entry.
If your child is still learning German, ask your local school authority (Schulamt) whether your state requires a language check before school entry.
NOTE: A Bundestag motion is not a law on its own. The AfD motion is unlikely to pass as written because every other major party rejected its immigration framing.
