I earned a trip to Disney through my business a few years ago. It was scheduled during the school year.

We were thrilled. And had a great time. Kids included.

I’m currently flying the friendly skies to Dallas for a family wedding.

My son is beside me and my daughter is across the aisle. (Hence, a family wedding. It would kind of be weird to leave them home.)

My children have most definitely missed school for occasions like these.

Like many, I found the recent exchange between school officials and the Boston Marathon running Dad to be very interesting and am trying to figure out where I land in the court of opinion.

I’m intrigued because I’m a rule-follower. Until, I’m not.

It’s funny. I love order. I support rules. Laws. Decorum. “First things first” is the motto in our house. And yet, when faced with the opportunity to bring my children on a complimentary trip to Disney for the week (5th and 1st grade at the time), we didn’t think twice, even meeting up with our parents during the trip. The kids brought homework and did a bit in our room every morning before heading out for fun, and my daughter was also given the assignment of interviewing someone from another country. This was easy peasy to complete being down at Disney, for “Cast members” have their country of origin listed on their name tags.

It’s a small world, after all.

Even so, it was definitely not an educational trip. Nor is the wedding we are headed to today. (Unless one counts the missed schoolwork that I demanded be completed before we left or while on the plane.)

I never even thought to check school policy on taking my children out of school during the school year. To this day, I’m assuming the Disney absences were (and our recent ones will be) excused? Perhaps I’m completely naive? More likely, I didn’t read the school’s handbook. It truly never crossed my mind that these trips may not be considered OK.

Talking with a few friends online about the recent situation with Boston Marathon Dad, there is a clear difference of opinion.

Some find that while these parents had every right to take their children out of school for travel, they were still in violation of the local school board’s policy. Others take issue with the father’s response to the principal, and how it was executed: Facebook (did he think it would not be shared?). Still others find it frustrating that there are such zero-tolerance policies towards absences and that the issue should be addressed and challenged.

Case in point, for friend’s of ours, not even a family funeral was deemed as an excused absence. Hmmmm.

I can see how this topic would foster a myriad of opinions. And truly, don’t stories like our Boston-traveling family always come down to personal opinion?

Have you ever taken your kids out of school for vacation?

Were the absences considered excused or unexcused?