School uniform vs. the headscarf

COULD THE INTRODUCTION OF A COMPULSORY SCHOOL UNIFORM PROHIBIT FEMALE STUDENTS FROM WEARING A HEADSCARF?

Summarized: Upon the introduction of a rule making school uniforms compulsorily, it cannot prohibit the wearing of a headscarf.  

To this day, there isn’t a single federal state which has legally enforced the wearing of school uniforms. If such a rule was introduced making no exceptions for a headscarf and backing itself up by a specific legal basis, any resulting headscarf ban would disproportionately restrict the religious freedom of Muslims schoolgirls according to Article 4 (1) of the German Basic Law (see: here).¹ After all, the intentions of the enforcement of a school uniform, such as the sense of belonging at school and doing away with the prominence of expensive fashion amongst students can also be achieved with a headscarf which matches the colors of the uniform. A headscarf ban would therefore not be the necessary measure to achieve the intended purpose and therefore unconstitutional.²

^{1 Coumont in Muslimische Schüler und Schülerinnen in der öffentlichen Schule, page 206 onwards.} 

^{2 Coumont in ZAR 2009, page 9.}