Apply for a grant for independent schools offering courses in social and healthcare professions
As an independent operator of schools that operate on a not-for-profit basis, you can apply to the state for a grant.
This applies to approved alternative schools or recognised supplementary schools
- for careers in the healthcare sector and
- for social care professions
run by independent bodies operating on a non-profit basis.
The amount of the grant for the funding year is calculated as follows: The number of your pupils in the eligible courses is multiplied by the per-pupil rate specified for the school type. In the case of independent schools, the per-pupil rate is calculated on the basis of the costs incurred at a corresponding school in the state education system. 80 per cent of the costs determined in this way are covered. As supplementary schools, you receive grants in accordance with the state budget.
Responsible authority
The competent funding authority is the Regional Council in whose district the school is based (Section 2).
Details
Prerequisite
- it is a privately run vocational college for healthcare or social care professions
- the school is authorised as an alternative school or is state-recognised as a supplementary school under the ‘ ’ scheme
- pupils are taught on the eligible courses
- the courses have been offered for at least three years. The waiting period may be waived, for example, if a school is merely being expanded to include a course of study located on the same premises
- the school operates on a non-profit basis.
The following courses are eligible for funding:
- Alternative schools: Dietetic Assistance, Speech and Language Therapy, Medical Technical Assistance Professions and Medical Technology, Physiotherapy, as well as schools for healthcare professions; Daily care, care for the elderly (phased out), care assistant for the elderly (one- and two-year courses), vocational training, home and family care, curative education assistance, curative education care, special educational needs, youth and residential care, as well as schools for social care professions
- Supplementary schools (full-time): occupational therapy, massage therapy and medical spa therapy, podiatry, and schools for healthcare professions
Procedure
As an eligible organisation, you may apply for the grant annually. Please submit a separate application for each course.
You will receive the information required for your application from your relevant authority in December prior to the funding year.
Once your funding authority has reviewed the application documents received in the spring, it will approve a provisional funding amount. This is based on the previous year’s funding and takes into account the provisional per-student rates. A large proportion of the funding will be paid out in monthly instalments up to November as advance payments. Instalments that became due before the funding decision became final will be paid retrospectively as a one-off payment.
On the basis of these figures, the funding authority draws up the final decision by the end of November/beginning of December and calculates the final grant amount. The monthly payments already made and a lump sum for copyright claims are offset against this final grant amount. Payment is usually made in December, provided that the final grant amount exceeds the instalments already paid out by November.
If the total of the instalments already paid exceeds the final grant amount, the overpaid amount must be reimbursed by the school authority. Further information can be found in the notification letter. To speed up the payment, you may submit a waiver of appeal to the relevant funding authority. The relevant form will be sent to you together with the notification letter.
Deadlines
You must submit your completed application documents to your funding authority by the end of January. You will find the exact application deadline in the information sent to you by your funding authority. The application deadline may vary depending on the administrative district and the calendar year. In the Tübingen administrative district, the application must be submitted by 15 November of the previous year.
By the end of October of the current funding year, as the school authority, you must notify your relevant funding authority of the exact number of pupils, as shown in the official school statistics. The reference date is always in October, but the specific date varies from year to year.
In the following year, the school authority submits the statement of expenditure for the previous calendar year. The Regional Council in whose district the funding is granted sets the deadline; this applies only to supplementary schools.
Required documents
- Number of pupils per course and class, including the exact course title and the start and end dates of the courses
- Notification confirming compliance with the statutory requirements under Sections 51, 59, 60 and 61 of the German Tax Code (AO), which has replaced the former provisional certificates of charitable status
- Cost and funding plan. Required only for supplementary schools
- Extract from the Official School Statistics: ‘Overview 3 – List of courses and classes’, issued immediately after the annual reference date in October
- Statement of expenditure, completed and signed. In the following year, required only for supplementary schools; the form is enclosed with the grant notification
Costs
None
Miscellaneous
All documents can be sent to the funding authority as scanned copies by email.
Legal basis
Privatschulgesetz (PSchG)
Vollzugsverordnung zum Privatschulgesetz (VVPSchG)
Landeshaushaltsordnung für Baden-Württemberg (LHO)
Allgemeine Verwaltungsvorschriften (VV) des Ministeriums für Finanzen zur Landeshaushaltsordnung für Baden-Württemberg (VV-LHO)
Release note
Machine generated, based on the German release by: Sozialministerium Baden-Württemberg, 29.09.2026