Term-time Holiday Ruling Heading To Highest Court, Maybe
Term-time Holiday Ruling Heading To Highest Court, Maybe
Published : 22-Jul-2016 11:33
A parent's victory against the council, and by default the government, over taking his child on holiday during school term time is set to be challenged by the council, with the backing of the government.
The Isle of Wight Council took Jon Platt to court over his refusal to pay a £120 fine for taking his daughter on a holiday in termtime, butt Mr Platt won primarily because he successfully argued that the law was vague about how many days a parent could take their child out of school, and that what figures were enshrined in law certainly didn't specify zero.
It seems that the current regime of fines for taking children out of school in term time, introduced by the Education Minister Michael Gove in 2013, were never actually made law, but were just government instruction on how councils should interpret existing laws. However those existing laws don't say you can't take your child out of school in term time at all.
The ruling in April appeared to opened the way for parents to appeal fines imposed over the past few years and to book healthy, educational ski holidays in term time at lower cost to their families, similar to trips organised by schools, where they were unable to travel in school holiday periods.
However the government quickly said it would amend laws to ensure Mr Gove's policies were in future properly set up in law.
The latest development however is that the Isle of Wight Council have been told it can apply to the Supreme Court for permission to appeal against the High Court ruling in favour of Mr Platt.
The High Court itself had refused the council permission to appeal but Senior judge Lord Justice Lloyd Jones said the case raised 'a point of law of general public importance'. The Supreme Court itself still has to decide if it wants to hear the case.
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