Every child between the ages of five and sixteen has to go to school. We call this compulsory education. This rule applies to all children living in the Netherlands, including children with a different nationality or children of asylum seekers or foreign nationals.
Children in that age category must therefore be registered at a school and actually attend that school. Parents or carers who nevertheless keep their child at home are punishable by law.
But there is also such a thing as ‘excused school absenteeism’. These are situations in which that rule does not apply to your child. Because of a funeral of a family member, for example. Or – in some cases – to go on vacation.
Nog niet bekend waar leerplichtzaak over gaat
Waarom André Hazes en Monique Westenberg binnenkort moeten voorkomen in een leerplichtzaak, is niet bekend. Mogelijk gaat het om een vakantie van het stel buiten de schoolvakantie om, maar dat is nog gissen. Het Openbaar Ministerie wil er niets over kwijt.
Wel weten we dat Hazes en Westenberg, die samen een zesjarige zoon hebben, vorig jaar buiten de schoolvakantie naar de Verenigde Staten gingen. Daar kwam veel kritiek op. Westenberg reageerde toen: “Ook wij kunnen dat niet ‘zomaar’ doen. Als ondernemer(s) mag je een aanvraag doen om buiten de vakanties weg te gaan.”
If you take your child on holiday during school hours, you may be fined. But you can also ask for permission, the so-called ‘appeal for exemption’.
You can apply for an exemption if your job prevents you from going away during school holidays. For example, you are a fruit grower, you work in the hospitality industry and/or you are particularly busy at work during the school holidays. You must show a statement from your employer for this.
An independent entrepreneur who misses out on a large part of his or her income when he or she is away during school holidays can also get an exemption. You must be able to prove this. You can think of a copy of your income in the same period in the previous year. Or a bundling of the assignments that you will do during the school holidays.
You can request such an exemption from the school director. This must be done at least eight weeks before the start of the holiday.
The director may give a child a maximum of ten days off outside school holidays once per school year. In addition, it must be sufficiently demonstrated that a father or mother really cannot go on holiday with the family for two weeks in a row, during any school holiday.
A school principal can also say no. For example, if the requested holiday is in the first two weeks after the summer holidays. Or if you have already been away outside the school holidays this school year.
A parent can then still object in writing against the decision.
And then there are other reasons why a child can stay at home:
- If a full school week is (still) too much for your child. A child up to the age of six may stay home from school for up to five hours a week. As a father or mother you do not have to ask permission for this, but you must tell the school management.
- If your child then needs even more rest. Here too, a child up to the age of six may stay at home for an extra five hours. You must ask permission from the director of the school for these hours.
- When your child is sick. You must report this to the school within two days.
- If your child is suspended. In that case, the school will already be informed.
- If your child has to miss school because of your religion. You can think of holidays such as Eid-al-Fitr or the Jewish Easter. You must inform the school in advance of this.
- If your child has to attend a special event, such as a wedding or funeral. The school principal must give permission in advance. If your child needs to be off for more than a day before the event, you must explain this to the school principal. He decides whether the child gets that long time off. If it concerns a period that lasts longer than ten days, the attendance officer must give permission.
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2023-06-01 19:39:39
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