Vacation at school expense: Parents face these fines!

Vacation at school expense: Parents face these fines!

More and more families are deciding to report their children sick so that they can start their vacation a day earlier. A look at compulsory schooling and the associated fines raises questions. Traffic jams on the highways and high airfares lead many parents to consider so-called “fib vacations.” Teachers and the philologists' association note that the number of sick reports increases before the holidays. According to WELT, it appears that education ministries in various federal states clearly emphasize that students are not allowed to travel during school hours, which concerns the legal framework for school refusal.

Fines for school refusal vary depending on the federal state and can be quite expensive. The regulation is particularly drastic in Berlin, where fines of up to 2,500 euros can be imposed. In North Rhine-Westphalia, over 8,000 fine proceedings were initiated in 2024 for violating compulsory schooling, a worrying increase of 45% within five years. Controls in Bavaria have also been tightened to counteract the phenomenon. Parents who withdraw their children from school without appropriate school exemption run the risk of being punished.

Fine framework and measures

How do the fines differ in the federal states? Here is an overview:

• Baden-Württemberg: 50 bis 300 Euro pro Fehltag
• Bayern: bis zu 1000 Euro
• Berlin: bis zu 2500 Euro
• Bremen: 35 Euro pro Fehltag
• Hamburg: 150 Euro pro Fehltag, 200 Euro im Wiederholungsfall
• Hessen: 100 Euro pro Fehltag, 150 Euro ab der ersten Verwarnung
• Niedersachsen: bis zu 1000 Euro
• Nordrhein-Westfalen: 80 bis 150 Euro pro Fehltag
• Rheinland-Pfalz: bis zu 500 Euro im Wiederholungsfall
• Sachsen: bis zu 1250 Euro
• Sachsen-Anhalt: bis zu 1000 Euro
• Thüringen: bis zu 1500 Euro

Parents should also be aware that they may face criminal consequences for repeated violations. In some federal states, such as Bremen and Hamburg, there is a risk of fines of up to 180 daily rates or imprisonment of up to six months. In North Rhine-Westphalia, where full-time schooling is compulsory up to the age of 10, schools can systematically report absences and activate the youth welfare office to bring students to school if necessary.

Background and exceptions

But why does this school refusal happen? It is often family problems, bullying or pressure to perform that keep young people from attending school. In order to get to the root of the problem, schools are required to address bullying issues and take appropriate action.

In Switzerland, on the other hand, there is an interesting regulation: Here parents can apply for so-called “joker days” per school year. These days help to reduce the problem of children calling in sick at holiday time. Parents in Germany who deregister their children at the start of the holidays without being exempt from school should be aware that they may have to bear financial consequences. In addition to fines of various amounts, there are also ways to avoid these through work requirements.

Overall, it shows that compulsory schooling is taken seriously in Germany. Anyone who thinks they can do it with “petty offenses” could quickly lose a lot of money – and that’s ultimately no joke. Loud bussgeldkatalog.org the penalties for this are not without their consequences.

Do we really want our children to stay home from school in loneliness and fear? A healthy coexistence could also lead to school refusal becoming less common. And a responsible approach to compulsory schooling could perhaps offer an alternative to the fib holidays.