Bavarian police have fined 10 families for trying to take their kids on holiday during the school term.
Several German families have been fined for taking their kids out of school before the official start of school holidays.
In Germany, school is compulsory so it is illegal for parents to take their kids out of school before vacation officially starts.
Police at the Bavarian airport of Memmingen checked several families that were trying to leave earlier for vacation with kids of school age. Airport authorities were able to determine that the children were taken out without consent from the school, said a police statement.
Officers then charged 10 families with enabling truancy. A truancy fine can be as high as €1,000, said the Bayerischer Rundfunk.
In their statement, police asked parents to “not take their children out of school before vacation officially started in order to book cheaper flights.” Parents must apply for an exemption with the school headmaster in order to legally take their kids out of school before the start of the holidays.
Like in Germany, parents in the United Kingdom must get permission from the school to take their kids out on holiday during term time. The government’s website warns parents they can be fined if they make their child miss school for holidays without the school’s permission.
