The summer holidays are fast approaching – no doubt to the excitement of your children.
Some families may consider taking their child out of school prior to the official start of the holidays, which this year is July 7th. But this is illegal in most circumstances and could land you a €135 fine. For repeated offences that compromise the education of your child, the maximum penalty is a 2-year prison sentence and a €30,000 fine.
The law states: “When a child misses class, the people responsible for them must inform the director of the educational establishment straight away of the motives for this absence”.
You can pull your child out of school early if you get your hands on an autorisation d’absence – an authorisation to be absent.
The following reasons are legal routes you could use to receive an autorisation d’absence from the school.
- Illness (either of the child or someone in the family who could be contagious) – if your child has an infectious disease, you will need to get a letter from a doctor to show to the school;
- An important family event (a marriage or a funeral for example);
- Difficulty getting to school because of an accident that happened during the journey there;
- The child has to follow their legal representatives.
This last point is vague enough that some parenting forums online suggest it can be used to justify pulling your child out of school early to go on holiday. In any case – any “motive” you give will have to be approved by the school.
If you want to use some other reason to pull your child out of school early, you will need to explain this to the school director who will then treat your request on a case by case basis.
These rules apply to any child registered in a primary school, middle school or high school in France.
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