What Happens When You Disagree with a Former Partner About Your Child’s Education?

Couples who share children and who have decided to end their relationship face a number of unique difficulties, including the need to navigate the child custody process. Even once custody-related issues have been decided, however, parents must often grapple with complicated issues like making important childcare-related decisions, such as where the couple’s children will attend school. Unfortunately, some parents may find themselves unable to come to an agreement on these types of issues, in which case, the parties may need to go to court to resolve the matter. For help with your own child custody-related questions and concerns, please contact an experienced parental responsibility attorney who can ensure that your child’s interests are protected.

Shared Parental Responsibility

When determining how a couple will share custody of their children, courts are required to divide responsibility for childcare-related decision making, as well as the physical time that they will each spend with their child between the parties. Most courts, even when they do not award equal parenting time, prefer to award shared parental responsibility, which means that both parties are required to make important decisions related to a child’s education, healthcare, and religion together. In many cases, parents who share similar outlooks and values are able to reach an agreement on these issues with little to no conflict. This is, however, not always true, in which case, the parties may need to take the matter to court where it will be resolved by a family law judge.

Education-Related Decisions

One of the most difficult major decisions that parents must make after their separation is determining where their children will attend school. Whether it is determined that a child will go to a private school with paid tuition, attend a public school or charter school, or receive their education through a homeschooling program, parents wish equal decision making responsibility for their children must come to an agreement on this issue before moving forward. Parents who are unable to do so, however, may end up leaving the decision in the hands of a judge, who is directed to take certain factors into account, including:

• The child’s wishes;
• The existing relationships between a child and his or her peers and teachers;
• The child’s adjustment to the school district in which he or she currently attends school;
• The child’s specific educational needs;
• The child’s current academic performance;
• Whether the child is engaged in any extracurricular activities;
• The qualifications of the teachers at each educational institution;
• The method of teaching and curriculum at each school;
• Whether the child has special needs or a medical condition; and
• Whether removing the child from his or her current school would damage the child’s welfare.

Please call our legal team to learn more about these factors and how they could affect decisions regarding your own child’s education.

Contact an Experienced Fort Lauderdale Parental Responsibility Attorney

If you are having trouble coming to an agreement with your child’s other parent on where your child will attend school, please contact dedicated Fort Lauderdale parental responsibility attorney Sandra Bonfiglio, P.A. by calling 954-945-7591 today.

Resource:

scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=2965110235639150961&q=lane+vs+lane+&hl=en&as_sdt=6,45&as_ylo=2016

https://www.sandrabonfiglio.com/shared-parental-responsibility-in-florida/