The start time for school classes is set by a government regulation, under which classes generally begin at 9 a.m. or later. The regulation allows schools to make exceptions and start classes earlier, but not before 8 a.m.

Classes at Kõrveküla Basic School have started at 8 a.m. in previous years and the school continued this practice during the current academic year.

The central issue in the court dispute was whether Kõrveküla Basic School had grounds to justify starting classes earlier than the time stipulated in the government regulation and whether the school had weighed the relevant interests when making its decision.

The parents who filed the complaint emphasized the importance of children's well-being and mental health, arguing that an earlier start to the school day would make it impossible to ensure students got enough sleep. They maintained that there were no circumstances justifying an exception and that the school's decision was primarily based on transportation arrangements and budget considerations.

Tartu Administrative Court disagreed with these arguments. According to the court, whether exceptional circumstances exist must be assessed based on the specific characteristics of the school and the surrounding area, taking into account factors such as transportation arrangements, differences between sparsely and densely populated areas, the size of the school, its distance from a major regional center and local infrastructure.

The court found that any decision to start the school day before 9 a.m. as an exception to the general rule must take into account the specific characteristics of the school and the surrounding area, transportation options and the size of the school.

In the case of Kõrveküla Basic School, the court considered it important to take into account the interests of students living both near the school and farther away in sparsely populated areas, as well as families' differing transportation options. The court also noted that starting the school day later would mean ending it later, potentially affecting students' opportunities to participate in extracurricular activities and reducing the time available in the evening to spend with family and friends, do homework and rest.

The administrative court found that circumstances justifying an earlier start to classes existed in the case of Kõrveküla Basic School.

According to the court, the local government's obligation to arrange transportation to and from school for basic school students also had to be taken into account. The court found that an earlier start time could be justified by the need to provide school transportation and equal access to education for children living farther away, while avoiding unreasonable and costly duplication of public transportation routes.

The court also considered the need to use local government budget funds efficiently to be an exceptional circumstance.

The court found that the school had not overlooked students' mental health when making its decision. It noted that, in addition to getting enough sleep, students' mental health is significantly affected by the structure of the school day and their families' overall daily routines.

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