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

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