THIRD GERMAN COURT RULES AGAINST TEACHING ``REFORMED'' GERMAN

GELSENKIRCHEN, GERMANY (AP) _ THE TALLY STOOD AT 3-1 MONDAY AFTER AN ADMINISTRATIVE COURT IN GELSENKIRCHEN BECAME THE THIRD TO RULE AGAINST TEACHING THE ``REFORMED'' GERMAN LANGUAGE.

WHILE THE COURT DID NOT SPECIFICALLY RULE AGAINST THE REFORMATION, IT FORBADE A GRADE SCHOOL IN NEARBY GLADBECK TO START TEACHING ``REFORMED'' GERMAN THIS YEAR, A YEAR EARLIER THAN OFFICIALLY CALLED FOR.

THE COURT SAID THAT MOVING UP THE DATE A YEAR BEFORE THE ``REFORMED'' LANGUAGE WAS TO BE INTRODUCED IN OTHER ASPECTS OF GERMAN LIFE INTERFERRED WITH FAMILY RIGHTS IN REARING CHILDREN.

A SINGLE SCHOOL ALSO DID NOT HAVE THE RIGHT TO START TEACHING THE LANGUAGE AHEAD OF OTHER SCHOOLS, THE COURT SAID.

OVER THE PAST TWO WEEK, COURTS IN HESSE AND LOWER SAXONY STATES HAVE RULED AGAINST SCHOOLS SWITCHING TO THE NEW GRAMMAR AND SPELLING RULES, WHILE A COURT IN RHINELAND-PALATINATE RULED THAT SCHOOLS IN THAT STATE COULD BEGIN TEACHING ``REFORMED'' GERMAN AS OF AUGUST 1998.

11 AUG 97