Skip to main content

You are here:

Advice on issues related to the manifestation of religious belief within schools

This advice has been prepared further to a request from the Office of the Minister for Integration for our views on issues related to accommodating the manifestation of religious belief within uniform or dress codes in schools.

The OCO advised that should a decision be taken not to issue a directive to schools but to provide general guidelines, any such general guidance should clearly set out the human rights and equality framework within which schools must exercise their discretion. In particular, the principles and tests elaborated by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the European Court of Human Rights should be outlined and the obligation on all organs of the State to act in accordance with the ECHR recalled.