“But my children are in school regularly”.
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Magistrates decided Mr Platt had no case to answer shortly before he was due to face trial.
Chairman of campaign group Parents Want a Say, Craig Langman, said the group was expecting many more parents to contact them to challenge their fines.
Jon Platt, 44, took his daughter Disney World in Florida in April during term time on a family holiday.
Jon Platt, from the Isle of Wight, said he won his case because there was no legislation that makes it illegal to take a child away outside of the official breaks.
Cassie, 37, who has 16 and 14-year-old daughters and a 10-year-old son, said schools “exaggerate” the impact on children’s studies.
When he appeared in front of magistrates, with the help of his solicitor, he was able to prove that his daughter was complying with the Education Act that required children to attend school regularly.
The child’s school in Isle of Wight refused to authorise her absence and her father said it was the only time when the whole family would be available.
His new guidelines stated that children should only be taken out of school during term time in “exceptional circumstances”. “I had to prove nothing – they [the school] just had to prove my child’s attendance was not regular”.
According to the Guardian, he said it was a matter of arguing his case against section 444 of the Education Act that says parents must ensure their children attend school regularly.
There are a number of exemptions to the rule – for example, pupils are allowed to miss school in order to observe religious holidays.
He was fined £60, which doubled to £120 when he didn’t pay it in time.
“My assessment was my kids attend school very regularly, they miss very little time at school, they’re doing extremely well at school and I didn’t think I’d broken the law”.
Fines are issued to parents who take pupils out of school when leave has not been granted, which saw64,000 fines issued in 2013.
“My kids’ education is absolutely critically important to me but I’m also responsible for their welfare”.
“If I thought my kids’ education would be affected I wouldn’t have taken them”. Platt, whose family business tackles banks over unfair charges, said he understood the consequences and knew he would be prosecuted but still took her on holiday with the rest of the family.
A spokesman for the Isle of Wight council said: “We can confirm that the council, as local education authority, had proceeded with legal action in this case in accordance with the appropriate legislation, Department for Education regulations and guidance”.
When I made the application through the school to get her time off, it was refused, even though her attendance at the time was 100%.
“Parents should never simply discount a possible penalty notice from the cost of a cheaper holiday”. The result has been a surge in fines and prosecutions of parents for unauthorised absences, as well as an improvement in the overall attendance record of state schools in England. However, as his other daughter, 10, attends a private school, there was no fine.
The decision could now open the door for others to fight their own fines.
The Isle of Wight council is reviewing its decision to prosecute.
‘This case highlights that it is not as simple as that.
Government is set to hold a Parliamentary debate on a petition to allow children up to two weeks holiday leave from school a year on 26 October.
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Currently, courts can issue a fine of £2,500 or a jail sentence of up to three months to the parents of children who skip school.
