---
title: More US Parents Are Taking Their Kids Out of School to Save on Travel
description: Taking your kids out of school for an off-peak trip can save hundreds. Here is what it costs their learning and what a US school will actually do about it.
author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief)
updated: 2026-08-28T21:16:46.627Z
canonical: https://richtravelmagazine.com/article/taking-kids-out-of-school-to-travel-off-peak
categories: Smart Travel
content_type: Analysis
region: United States
publication: Rich Travel Magazine
schema_type: Article
---

The cheapest week to fly your family somewhere is almost never a week your kids have off. Travel-industry estimates put peak-season accommodation roughly 20% to 40% higher than the same rooms off-peak, and flights climb the same way whenever school is out and every other family is trying to travel. So a growing number of American parents are doing the obvious thing: booking when it is cheap and taking the kids out of school to travel.

Independent data backs up how common this has become. In a University of Southern California study reported by Chalkbeat, [about a third of students named a family vacation or event as a reason they had missed school](https://www.chalkbeat.org/2026/06/30/chronic-absenteeism-crisis-not-just-due-to-pandemic-study-finds/).

A recent survey by the travel-booking company Omio puts the number much higher. Atomik Research polled 1,000 US parents of children aged 5 to 18 in late July and early August, and 67% said they had already taken their kids out of school for a vacation, with another 24% saying they would consider it. That figure sits well above the independent measures, and it comes from a company that sells the trips, so the nine-in-ten headline reads as a marketing marker more than a hard count. The reason parents give is money: in the same survey, 92% said they would consider a term-time trip if it saved anything at all, and nearly half said savings under $1,000 would be enough to decide them.

## Teachers see these absences very differently from parents

Educators are far less relaxed about vacation days than families are, and [students rarely make up the work they miss](https://www.edweek.org/leadership/should-kids-miss-school-for-vacation-parents-say-yes-teachers-arent-so-sure/2025/11) while they are gone. A day at the beach in October does not come with the packet the class covered that morning. There is a wider backdrop too: US chronic absenteeism is still running above where it sat before the pandemic, and the Department of Education has made cutting chronic absence a priority. One cheap week is a small part of that total, but it lands in the same column schools are under pressure to shrink, which is part of why the welcome at the front office can feel cooler than parents expect.

## Most US schools do little beyond marking it unexcused

For most American families, the answer is not much. The US does not fine parents for taking a child out for a trip. A district typically records the days as an unexcused absence and counts them toward its wider attendance figures, and that is usually where it ends. Whether missed work can be made up is a conversation with the individual teacher, not a penalty.

England shows what a harder line looks like. English schools issued 443,300 penalty notices in the 2023-24 school year, and [91% of them were for unauthorized term-time holidays](https://educationhub.blog.gov.uk/2024/08/fines-for-parents-for-taking-children-out-of-school-what-you-need-to-know/). The fines start at £80 per parent per child and rise to £160 if they are not paid promptly. No equivalent charge exists for a US family weighing a Tuesday flight.

That leaves the decision with you. The savings are genuine and easy to work out against a peak-week quote. The cost is a few days of lessons your child will have to catch up on their own, and it grows with every extra day and with how much the class covers while your family is away. A couple of days around a long weekend is a different trade from a week pulled out of exam season.

## FAQ

**Q: Can I take my child out of school for a vacation in the US?**
Yes. No US law stops you, and there is no fine for it. The school will usually log the days as an unexcused absence, so check your district's attendance policy and talk to the teacher about making up any work.

**Q: Do US schools fine parents for taking kids out of school?**
No. Unlike England, where unauthorized term-time holidays drew hundreds of thousands of penalty notices starting at £80, US districts do not charge parents for a vacation absence. They record it as unexcused and count it toward overall attendance.

**Q: How much cheaper is off-peak family travel?**
Enough to change the trip. Travel-industry estimates put peak-season accommodation roughly 20% to 40% above off-peak, with flights following the same pattern, which is why many families book outside the school-holiday windows.

**Q: Does missing a few days of school for a trip hurt learning?**
It depends on how many days and when. Teachers are more concerned about vacation absences than parents are, partly because students rarely complete the work they miss, so the impact grows with the length of the trip and how much the class covers while your child is away.