In May 2020, the government cancelled the traditional Leaving Certificate exams and introduced a Calculated Grades Scheme based on teacher assessments and a national standardisation process. For in-school students who were taught by a parent, the scheme provided that another non-conflicted teacher could provide an assessment. But no such alternative assessment was provided for home-educated students who were taught by their parents.

Elijah Burke, a Leaving Certificate student who was educated by his mother Martina, took proceedings in the High Court after he was excluded from the 2020 Leaving Certificate Calculated Grades Scheme. He argued that the Calculated Grades Scheme provided no pathway for him to receive a calculated grade and therefore, he was effectively barred from accessing the Leaving Certificate.

The legal challenge invoked the constitutional right to home educate and aimed to compel the Department of Education to treat home educated students equitably and to allow Mr Burke fair access to the Leaving Certificate.

The Court ruled that the scheme’s exclusion of home educated students was unconstitutional, as it infringed on their rights to education at home. Moreover, the court also held that home educated students should not be denied equal access to state exams as a vital pathway to third-level education. The Minister for Education unsuccessfully appealed the ruling to both the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court.