Quote Originally Posted by Loki View Post
It varies by school. I remember someone tried that in my school and the teachers weren't very happy. They're generally fine with family vacations that require 1-2 absences.
Yeah, same here - especially if parents or other close family have a job that doesn't allow them to take vacation days when the kids have vacation (shipping, for example). And I got a day off to go to the math olympiad
Quote Originally Posted by Veldan Rath View Post
Pfft. What are teachers gonna do? Call the cops and not allow you to go?
Probably give you detention for unauthorized absence, but if it's persistent they may call the inspection services. Not sure what they do, possibly a fine? They can, in bad cases, refer it to social services, child protection, etc. In extreme cases that can lead to shared custody. But that's really rare, only case I can think of was when a 14 year old wanted to sail around the world, solo.

Okay, I got curious so I looked it up. Local authorities have people charged with education who, among other things, oversee absences, and investigate cases like this. School principals have discretion to allow absences but they oversee it all. If something is (allegedly) wrong, they confer with the 'triangle' of the education officer, the DA, and child protection services. Taking your kid out of school for vacation is an offense with a fine up to €2500, and is apparently frequently handed out for parents taking their kids out of school early for vacations without a proper reason.

Int he case of the sailing girl, he didn't want to allow a year of self study while sailing solo around the world, and also referred it to the youth protection services. They thought the plan was irresponsible, and appointed a guardian who gives guidance and supervision to the family. This is apparently also done if there are serious problems with school absence. At the same time, the court appointed a psychologist to check if the girl was mature enough to make a trip. When the court determined the risks were sufficiently diminished about a year later, full custody was back at the parents, and she set sail.