In Frankfurt, Nearly Every Well-Known International School Is Private, and None of Them Skip the Health Exam
Frankfurt's answer to this question carries extra weight compared with some other German cities, because nearly all of Frankfurt's best-known international schools, Frankfurt International School, ISF International School Frankfurt Rhein-Main, and Metropolitan School Frankfurt among them, are genuinely private Ersatzschulen rather than public schools with an international curriculum. None of them are exempt from the Einschulungsuntersuchung. Section 71 of the Hessisches Schulgesetz (HSchG), Verpflichtung zu besonderen Untersuchungen, creates the exam duty in language that names no school type at all, public or private, and Hessen's own state school office describes the Genehmigung (state approval) every Ersatzschule needs before it can even open, alongside the principle that attending an approved substitute school fulfills the same underlying Schulpflicht, compulsory schooling obligation, that attending a public school does. Hessen's own official pages on the exam itself, both Frankfurt's Gesundheitsamt page and the state's Verwaltungsportal, describe it as applying to every child due to start school, without carving out a private-school exception anywhere. Hessen has over 1,600 primary schools in total, spanning state Grundschulen, state-recognized Ersatzschulen, and independent private schools, and nothing in how the exam duty is written treats any of those categories differently. A school's own enrollment paperwork, health forms, emergency contact sheets, immunization declarations, serves that specific school's own purposes and doesn't substitute for the Gesundheitsamt's own appointment.
The Official Rule
Families choosing Frankfurt’s private and international school scene often did it specifically to step outside some of the more bureaucratic parts of German public schooling, Schulbezirk catchment rules, public enrollment timelines, curriculum requirements tied to the state system. It’s a reasonable instinct to wonder whether the Einschulungsuntersuchung belongs on that same list of things a private choice opts a family out of.
It doesn’t, and this question carries more weight in Frankfurt than in some other cities, because nearly all of its best-known international schools are genuinely private. Frankfurt International School (FIS), ISF International School Frankfurt Rhein-Main, and Metropolitan School Frankfurt are all independent, tuition-charging Ersatzschulen rather than public schools with an international curriculum. That’s actually the reverse of the wrinkle covered in SettledIn’s Berlin guide to this topic, where two of the city’s most prominent international options, Nelson Mandela School and the John F. Kennedy Schule, turn out to be public, state-funded schools despite their international curricula. In Frankfurt, there’s no equivalent public option among the schools international families ask about most often, which means the exemption question this page addresses is directly relevant to a larger share of Frankfurt’s international-family population than it is elsewhere.
The underlying legal duty was never written with a school-type carve-out in the first place. Section 71 of the Hessisches Schulgesetz (HSchG), Verpflichtung zu besonderen Untersuchungen, obligates children and their parents to undergo the school medical exam once a child reaches school age, in language tied to the child’s age and upcoming school admission rather than to any specific type of school. Hessen’s own state school office describes a further structural point worth knowing: every Ersatzschule, whether FIS, ISF, or any other private school in the state, needs a Genehmigung, formal state approval, before it can accept school-age students at all, and attending an approved Ersatzschule fulfills the same Schulpflicht, compulsory schooling obligation, that attending a public school does. The exam duty sits alongside that same admissions framework, not outside it.
| School category | Examples | Where the exam duty comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Öffentliche Schule (public) | Standard Frankfurt Grundschulen | Section 71 HSchG applies directly; no private/public distinction to draw |
| Staatlich genehmigte Ersatzschule | Frankfurt International School, ISF International School Frankfurt Rhein-Main, Metropolitan School Frankfurt, Anna-Schmidt-Schule | Section 71 HSchG names no school type; Ersatzschule approval ties into fulfilling the same Schulpflicht public schools fulfill |
| Any other private primary program | Smaller or newly established independent primary programs | Frankfurt's own Gesundheitsamt page and Hessen's Verwaltungsportal describe the exam applying to every child starting school |
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Hessen’s own private-schools association adds a quieter but telling signal. privatschulen-hessen.de’s own FAQ page, covering common questions about founding, funding, and operating a private school in the state, doesn’t mention the Einschulungsuntersuchung or any exam exemption anywhere in its coverage of private-school rules. For a topic with real financial and administrative stakes for private-school operators, that silence is itself a reasonable indication that no separate, lighter version of this exam duty exists for private-school families to ask about.
A School’s Own Paperwork Isn’t the Government’s Exam
Even once a family has confirmed the exam applies to their chosen school, a second, quieter source of confusion tends to surface at enrollment time. Private and international schools commonly ask parents to complete their own health-related forms, emergency contact sheets, allergy and medication declarations, immunization records for the school’s own files, and it’s easy to assume that submitting this paperwork closes the matter entirely.
It doesn’t. Whatever health-related form a specific school asks for exists for that school’s own purposes, knowing who to call and what to watch for during the school day, and has no legal connection to Section 71 HSchG, no connection to Frankfurt’s Gesundheitsamt, and no connection to the Kinder- und Jugendmedizinischer Dienst appointment covered in this site’s main guide to the exam. Completing a school’s own enrollment paperwork satisfies that school’s own file. It does nothing toward the Einschulungsuntersuchung itself, which still has to happen separately through the Gesundheitsamt.
Step by Step
- Don't treat your private or international school choice as relevant to the invitation itselfSection 71 HSchG creates the exam duty without naming any school type, and Hessen's own Ersatzschule framework doesn't carve out an exception either.
- Remember Frankfurt's landscape is different from some other citiesunlike Berlin, where a couple of well-known international schools turn out to be public, Frankfurt's best-known options (FIS, ISF, Metropolitan School Frankfurt) are genuinely private, so this question applies to them directly.
- Expect the invitation to be tied to your family's registered address, not to where your chosen school sitsa family living in Frankfurt but attending FIS in Oberursel still deals with Frankfurt's own Gesundheitsamt if that's where the family is registered.
- Fill out any health or emergency-contact form your private or international school requests, but keep it mentally separatea school's own paperwork has no bearing on the government exam.
- If in doubt about your family's own status, confirm with Frankfurt's Gesundheitsamt rather than your school's front officethe school can only speak to its own paperwork; only the Gesundheitsamt can confirm the exam itself.
Compliance Note
This page explains the general legal structure connecting Hessen’s private and independent school framework to the Einschulungsuntersuchung requirement, based on current state law and the official sources cited above, but it is not legal advice. Individual schools may have their own enrollment procedures beyond what’s described here, and if anything about your family’s specific situation seems unclear, confirm directly with Frankfurt’s Gesundheitsamt or a Fachanwalt für Schulrecht.
FAQ & Common Pitfalls
Why would a Frankfurt family assume a private or international school is exempt from this exam?
It's an understandable guess, especially in Frankfurt specifically. Choosing FIS, ISF, or Metropolitan School Frankfurt genuinely does change plenty of things: tuition, curriculum, the Schulbezirk catchment rules that decide where a public-school family enrolls, none of that applies once a family opts into Frankfurt's private and international sector. The Einschulungsuntersuchung looks, on the surface, like it should belong on that same list of things a private choice opts a family out of. It doesn't, because it was never a school-choice rule to begin with, it's a public health measure tied to a child's age and upcoming school admission, run by the Gesundheitsamt regardless of which specific school that admission is to.
Section 71 HSchG doesn't mention Ersatzschulen by name. How confident should I be that it actually applies to FIS, ISF, or Metropolitan School Frankfurt?
Fairly confident, though it's worth being precise about the argument rather than overstating it. Hessen's own state school office describes the Genehmigung, state approval, that every Ersatzschule needs before it can operate, and ties attending an approved Ersatzschule to fulfilling the same Schulpflicht, compulsory schooling obligation, that attending a public school does. Section 71 HSchG itself creates the exam duty in general terms tied to a child's age and upcoming school start, without naming any school type at all, public or private. That's a structural argument rather than a provision that names FIS, ISF, or any specific school by number, and Frankfurt's own official page describing the exam doesn't carve out an exception for any category of school either.
Are FIS, ISF, and Metropolitan School Frankfurt actually private, unlike some Berlin international schools that turn out to be public?
Yes, genuinely private, and this is actually the opposite situation from Berlin. SettledIn's Berlin guide to this same topic covers a real wrinkle there, Nelson Mandela School and the John F. Kennedy Schule are both public, state-funded schools despite their international curricula. Frankfurt doesn't have an equivalent wrinkle among its best-known international options. FIS, ISF, and Metropolitan School Frankfurt are all independent, tuition-charging institutions operating as Ersatzschulen rather than public schools, which means the private-school exemption question covered on this page is directly relevant to a larger share of Frankfurt's international-family population than it is in Berlin.
Our chosen school already asked us to fill out health or emergency-contact paperwork. Doesn't that cover the exam requirement?
No, and it's worth checking this carefully rather than assuming otherwise. A private or international school's own enrollment paperwork, health declarations, emergency contact sheets, immunization records, exists for that specific school's own records, so it knows about allergies, medications, and who to call in an emergency. It has no connection to Section 71 HSchG, no connection to Frankfurt's Gesundheitsamt, and no connection to the Kinder- und Jugendmedizinischer Dienst appointment covered in this site's main guide to the exam. Completing a school's own form satisfies that school's own enrollment file. It does nothing toward the Einschulungsuntersuchung itself, which still has to happen through the Gesundheitsamt separately.
If we're choosing a Frankfurt-area international school outside the city itself, like FIS in Oberursel, does a different Gesundheitsamt apply?
The exam is tied to your child's actual residence and the Gesundheitsamt responsible for that address, not to wherever the private or international school itself happens to sit. A family living in Frankfurt but sending a child to FIS's Oberursel campus, in the Hochtaunuskreis, would still deal with Frankfurt's own Gesundheitsamt for the exam if that's where the family is registered; a family actually resident in the Hochtaunuskreis would go through that district's own health authority instead. Either way, choosing a school outside your home district doesn't change which office examines your child, your registered address does.