British Supreme Court Rules Against Dad Who Took His Child Out of School to Go on a Disney Vacation

On Thursday the British Supreme Court ruled against a  British man who took his daughter out of school without permission to visit Walt Disney World. Ruling he broke the law and must pay a penalty. The Supreme Court’s 18-page ruling overturned two lower courts’ decisions in favor of Mr. Platt, finding that he had no right to take his daughter out of school without a valid reason, such as illness.

Trouble started when Jon Platt asked to take his daughter, then 6, on a vacation to Walt Disney World back in January 2015. The school refused to grant  permission for the trip. However, Mr. Platt took his daughter on vacation anyway from April 13 to 21. Causing his daughter  to miss seven days of school. He was fined £120, about $180 at the time.

Platt  sued, arguing that his daughter had what was considered by the school to be a satisfactory attendance record of 90.3 percent after the vacation absences. A local magistrate agreed, as did an appeals court, but the local council took the case to the Supreme Court where  Justice Brenda Hale ruled against Platt stating that the requirement that a student attend school “regularly” meant “in accordance with the rules prescribed by the school,” not, as Mr. Platt argued, “with sufficient regularity.”

Justice Hale also noted that in a separate case, in February 2015, Mr. Platt’s daughter’s mother was fined after the girl missed school for five days without authorization, “The mother did exactly the same thing, was issued with a penalty notice and paid it.” Britain’s Education Department released a statement on Thursday that it was pleased that the court had affirmed that “head teachers have the ability to decide when exceptional circumstances allow for a child to be absent.”

I must admit, I am guilty of sneaking the occasional trip to Disney in during the school year. I can’t be the only one. How many of you have let your children miss school to take a trip to Disney?

Photo Credit: Stefan Rousseau

Thinking about a Magical Disney Vacation? As a contributor to Chip and Co. and an agent with MickeyTravels, LLC, I’d love to help you save time and money planning your next Disney vacation. My services are always FREE! Send me a message or email me at kkelly@mickeytravels.com and let’s start planning today. Follow me on Facebook for the latest Disney tips and tricks.

Let our friends at Destinations to Travel help you book your next Disney Vacation. They are the preferred Travel Agency of Chip and Company and Disney Addicts, and who we use ourselves.

Get started below for your FREE No Obligation Quote.

Book With our friends at Destinations to Travel

Who is your Travel Agent?(Required)

Let us pick for youEric HilesStacy ReedAbbey JohnsonAlisa SullivanAlli WillisAmanda FolsomAmanda VannAmber BrillhartAmber FisherAmy SieburnAndrea SmithAngela AndersonAngie BaycuraAnna PetrilliAnnabelle DuboseApril StefanskiAshley RamseyBeth ParsonsBetsy SantoroBrandie McQueenBrian BuckleyBridget HatchBryan SchwartzCandice SneedCarrie ButlerCarson DockumCasey BoltCharleen HortonChelsea RoyChelsea WuebkerChris BoyerChristie GrubeChristina FratturaChristina SmithCourtney WhiteCraig YoderDan MercedDanielle NorcrossDarby MouritsenDavid ForrestDeborah AlvaradoEmilee BiegelEmily MorrisFaith HakesGail HatchGreg MatzkerHelen HummerHolly CurryJackie CavistonJaclyn PepitoneJamie SwansonJeanine JordanJeff CallahanJenni MaierJennifer BrownJennifer StephensonJennifer StoessnerJessica HatfieldJessica HuffJessica WunderJoe GuertinJon CarpentierJoseph SliwaJulie McCombJustin BrownKat AttridgeKathryn EberhartKathy AndersonKatie HarrellKatie PrevotKayla CookKelsey SullensKim HelmsKimberly HutchinsonKristi GallagherKyle RamsdenLauren DewlenLeanne MonterLinda DurhamLindsay AckermannLindsey VromanLissette BritoLori HardyMallory MorrisonMandi QuinnMaranda PerkinsMarisa AlvaradoMegan TeismannMeghan BlairMelissa ReedMichele KlineMike BeyerMissy McCormickMisty DickersonNancy CasteelNicole ThorntonPatrick O'ConnorPaul SulPeyton Ward-KubikRaylene CooganRegan OstranderRobbie BulusRobert ThomasSara SolbergSarah McCandlishShanna BrowningShelley BennettShelly MetzStacy CristStacy KrzyminskiStacy SmithStephanie DraganoStephanie FerencStephanie WalshSusannah McCordTara SlusserTerri MillerTiffany DobraskiTiffany DrenkhahnTina FarmerTonya LesiukTracy DaneTroy DuncanVeronica RenteriaVicki FesslerWendy CarllWendy HauserWendy KellehanWendy Shelley

Name(Required)

First Last

Email(Required)

Phone(Required)

Destination(Required)

Walt Disney WorldDisneyland ResortDisney Cruise LineAulani, A Disney Resort and SpaAulani, A Disney Resort and SpaUniversal FloridaUniversal HollywoodRoyal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian or other Cruise LineI don't know yet

# of Adults(Required)

# of Children(Required)

Check-in-Date(Required)

MM slash DD slash YYYY

Check-out-Date(Required)

MM slash DD slash YYYY

Comments, Questions or Special Requests

Phone

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

For the BEST in Disney, Universal, Dollywood, and SeaWorld Theme Park News, Entertainment, Merchandise & More follow us on, Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. Don't forget to check out the Chip and Company Radio Network too!