Private Schools in France

What does "hors contrat" mean?
https://www.quora.com/What-does-hors-contrat-mean/answer/Hans-Georg-Lundahl-2

Hans-Georg Lundahl

Knows French

St. Andrew's Day

30.XI.2024

If the context is French schools, on the primary and secondary levels, these come in three flavours.

• State schools.
• Private schools “sous contrat”
• Private schools “hors contrat”.

The “contrat” is an agreement between the school and the ministry of education or the local school board, I don’t know which. Probably the ministry, considering how centralised France is. It’s a signed contract.

“Sous contrat” means the school operates UNDER conditions specificied in the contract.

“Hors contrat” means the school operates OUTSIDE such a contract.

The latter schools have more freedom, inside, to teach what they want, to decide what pupils they want to take. But they have fewer privileges. And private schools overall have fewer privileges than state schools, the latter being most privileged.

So, a school “hors contrat” and a school “sous contrat” may both be Catholic. Those that are under a contract may be obliged to take an applicant even if he isn’t Catholic. Those that are outside a contract aren’t obliged to do so. A school under a contract may censor the viewpoint that the Catholic Church was right and the French Government was wrong and did immense wrong in 1905–1906. A school outside the contract is likely to teach that. Some twelve years ago, a priest teaching in a Catholic private school challenged the theory of Evolution. He’s not the best case I’ve seen made for YEC (I’m a YEC myself), but I am glad he had the liberty to do so, and the initiative. I’m pretty certain he taught in a school “hors contrat” or outside the agreement.

The other side is, schools outside contract have perhaps less freedom outside. They are likelier to receive unfriendly visits from the ministry of education, get threatened with being closed down, the Left regularly pretends they should be closed down, they receive no subsidies from the state, but have to pay for everything themselves, so, have to ask parents harder about paying for the education. Those who can’t pay may be exonerated on an individual basis, but the exceptions can’t be too many, or the school would not afford to pay its staff and the costs for the ground and the building. They sometimes also ask for donations (and yes, this allows them to take a few more children or teens from poor familiies, but these will still be a minority).

2.XII.2024

David Jensen

YEC? Young Earth Creationism?

Hans-Georg Lundahl

Yes, exactly.

I think it was in 2012.