Local Government Association calls for change in rules on allowing term-time holidays

The Local Government Association (which represents local councils in the UK) have joined the debate about term time holidays for pupils this week. They argue that current rules banning term time holidays or imposing fines on those families who take such breaks do not recognise the complexities of modern families and also prevent poorer families from affording vacations that are invariably dearer during the holiday period.It struck me whilst reading one of the reports that the suggested policy is to allow head teachers that most quantifiable of options, 'common sense', to make decisions on a case-by-case basis would be the sort of argument that would make me scream if a student wrote it in an assessment answer. Economics students, unlike Local Government officials, need to take a much more analytic approach to this question!

So lets throw some economics into this question. We know that education is deemed to be a 'merit' good. Without some degree of free access to education it will be under-consumed. The right sort of education leads to an empowered and more effective workforce promoting economic growth. Unleashing the talents of our society, no matter their familial income group improves equality and efficiency. Operating within certain regulatory boundaries in terms of attendance guarantees a more effective delivery of the curriculum and for economies of scale to be more apparent to schools.

But why not allow some greater degree of flexibility with attendance? The biggest argument appears to be drawn from the fact that holidays are cheaper during term time. People could afford more holidays or better holidays if they were allowed to go at any time. You could make a strong argument that the availability of holidays also impacts on effectiveness in the workplace.

An economist, however, would ask the question about why prices (which are the greatest signal of demand and supply) are cheaper during term time. Some of the price reflects supply - ultimately holiday places are limited in their availability and, no matter what school regulation exists, more people will wish to take vacations during the summer months because of the weather. The price has to reflect that supply restriction. Some of the price, however, also reflects the demand factor - school children are on vacation so demand is greater. If term time holidays became more common then their price would increase as well.

What about the equality argument? There is an argument that the current policy isn't effective here. Schools (and councils) can impose fines on non-attendees. There is evidence that parents are weighing up the cost of this fine compared to the saving made by taking their child out of school and making a savvy judgement. Perhaps the current fine isn't large enough! Perhaps the fine levels were not decided by economists!

Of course, I would expect my students to suggest alternative policies if they didn't like the one on offer. Could allowable non-attendance be means-tested so that poorer families were allowed more time off school? Could the school year move away from the term-time/holiday model and be open 52 weeks a year with school pupils allowed 'leave' at any time other than exams?

What's the best alternative policy that your students can suggest?