The Costa Rican Constitution establishes in Article 78 that preschool, general basic and diversified education are compulsory and, in the public system, free and paid by the Nation. This applies to all persons, including refugees and asylum seekers. 

The recognition of education as a fundamental right gives rise to the possibility of filing an appeal for protection before the Sala Constitucional de la Corte Suprema de Justicia according to article 48 of the Costa Rican Constitution (Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice) in the event that asylum seekers or refugees are hindered in the effective enjoyment of their right to education; this has been the case of persons who have been denied access to education, due to the lack of documents from their country of origin, which has generated the development of jurisprudence lines in which the high court has developed the content of the right.

In this line, the Sala Constitucional de la Corte Suprema de Justicia (Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice) has stated that “Foreigners as inhabitants of the Nation have the right to education, most of which is considered free and compulsory.” (Resolution7806- 2003 Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court of Justice). It also has stipulated that "(...) The obligation to present a temporary student permit issued by the National Directorate of Migration and Foreigners constitutes an arbitrary and abusive measure in the case of minors, since with any migratory status or, even lacking one, foreign minors have the right to receive compulsory and free basic education. Furthermore, the challenged requirement, which is not a criminal sanction for unimputable minors, as alleged by the appellant, insofar as it is used as a mechanism to condition enrollment to force minors to legalize their immigration status, constitutes a deviation of power by the educational authorities, since it goes against the constitutional and legal purposes of the educational process". (Resolution Nº 08863 -2007)

In addition, according to the regional structure of the Ministerio de Educación Pública (Ministry of Public Education) in each case, depending on the geographic location, individuals may file administrative appeals before the Regional Directorates, which exercise their powers in accordance with the Manual de Procedimientos para Direcciones Regionales de Educación del Ministerio de Educación Pública (Manual of Procedures for Regional Education Directorates of the Ministry of Public Education).