Police at a German airport have fined parents for going on vacation before the official start of school holidays. School attendance is compulsory in Germany
Police stationed at a Bavarian airport fined several parents for taking their children on holiday before the official start of school holidays, local media reported recently.
School truancy is treated seriously in Germany and parents can be held liable if children do not attend school from age six to 16.
The airport crackdown
In the week leading up to the Pentecost holidays, six police officers checked families with children at Memmingen Airport, news magazine Der Spiegel reported.
If children were of school age, officers “gently pressured” parents for the name of their school, Stern reported. Officers then call the school to see if they had permission.
Police changed Ten families with enabling truancy. The fine for truancy can be as high as €1,000 ($1,177), Bayerischer Rundfunk reported.
School can insist on students’ return
“We have known about this phenomenon for a long time,” a police spokesman told Der Spiegel. “If the teacher then says that they insist on the presence of the children, we have to bring them back.”
In these cases, the parents probably save a bit on their holiday to pay for the fine.
Bavarian police asked guardians “not to take their children out of school before their holidays without school exemption.”
Parents must apply to the school for exemption and a decision is made by the headmaster.
Holiday prices
Many guardians try to avoid inflated flight prices by taking their children out of school before the official start of vacation.
