Jon Platt was handed a fine of £120 when he took his daughter away for an unauthorised week-long trip to Walt Disney World in Florida in 2015.
The business man from the Isle of Wight refused to pay and has since campaigned for the right for parents of children with good school attendance records to be allowed time off during term-time.
The High Court had previously found in Platt’s favour considering the holiday absence did not constitute regularly missing school.
But the Department for Education insists children should not miss lessons in term-time.
The Supreme Court issued its ruling today.
Platt was initially fined £60 which, with his non-payment, was increased to £120 after taking the US holiday.
At the time he also faced prosecution for failing to ensure his daughter’s regular attendance at school.
Platt’s defence was that a week’s absence in term-time should not be seen in isolation and should be considered in the context of his daughter’s overall attendance of more than 92%.
He argued that she had not been missing school regularly.
When the case came before magistrates on the Isle of Wight, they ruled that there was no case to answer as Platt’s daughter had attended school on a regular basis.
When appealed by Isle of Wight Council, backed by the Department for Education, the High Court accepted that magistrates had been entitled to consider school attendance outside of the week of the term-time absence.
When the case was heard at the Supreme Court earlier this year, the local authority argued that an unauthorised absence "for even a single day, or even half a day" could be unlawful, BBC News reports.
Platt’s representatives retorted that it was unfair to interpret the rules in a way that would criminalise parents.
A Department for Education spokesperson told BBC News: "Our position remains that children should not be taken out of school without good reason.
"That is why we have tightened the rules and are supporting schools and local authorities to use their powers to tackle unauthorised absence."
