Can I take my child out of school during term time, for example for a family trip?

In general, no. School is compulsory from age 4, and the 2023 law on compulsory schooling does not list a holiday as a reason to miss school.

The law accepts only three reasons for an absence: your child's illness, the death of a relative, and force majeure. Tell the class teacher on the first day of the absence and confirm in writing within three days. If it lasts more than three school days in a row, a supporting document is due by the fourth day.

Separately, you can ask in advance for a dispensation (dispense) for an important family event, or for a cultural, sporting, charitable or civic activity. Send a written request with your reasons at least three working days before the absence. Who decides depends on the length:

• one day or less: the class teacher (the régent in secondary school)
• up to five days in a row, or up to fifteen days in total over the school year: the president of the school committee, or the school's director
• anything longer: the Ministry of Education

Dispensations are not automatic, and whoever decides can ask for supporting documents first.

Missed lessons without a valid reason or a dispensation count as unjustified. If the ministry records at least 48 unjustified lessons in a school year, it sends the parents a formal notice by registered letter. A new unjustified absence after that is reported to the youth court. The ministry says these steps do not lead to criminal penalties.

The simplest route is to plan trips around the official school holidays (opens in a new tab), and to talk to the teacher early if a genuine family event falls in term time.