Making decisions about your child’s education is a very important right to a parent. What school will my child attend? What classes should my child take? Should my child be tested for a learning disability? Should my child be placed into a gifted and talented program? Determining who makes calls like these is a hugely important decision in any divorce case with children or Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship (SAPCR).
The Texas Family Code tells us that a parent has the right to make decisions concerning their child’s education. There are essentially two buckets of education decision-making: the right to decide where the child will be enrolled in school and the right to decide other education decisions.
- The Right to Decide Where the Child Will Be Enrolled in School
When parents have been appointed joint managing conservators and one parent has been appointed the primary parent, it is common for the primary parent to be the conservator who has the right to decide where the child will attend school. The primary parent is the parent who decides where the children live. But, the right to decide where the child will attend school is a right completely separate from the right to decide where the child lives. So, while it is common for the primary parent to have the right to decide where to enroll the child in school, this is not always the case.
When a parent has been appointed sole managing conservator, that parent has the exclusive right to decide where the child will attend school. This means that the sole managing conservator has the right to make that decision alone. The other parent does not have the right to make that decision. But, the sole managing conservator still needs to share the information about that decision with the other parent. While you don’t need their agreement, they need to know what decision you made.
- The Right to Decide Other Education Decisions
Texas Family Code also tells us that when parents are appointed joint managing conservators, the court must specify the rights and duties of a parent that are to be exercised in three ways: independently, exclusively, or by joint agreement. So, it is important to read and understand the final order in your case because the final order will clearly lay out how the right to make these other education decisions has been specified between the parties.
When the education decision-making right is independent, this means that each joint managing conservator has the right to make that decision without regard to what the other parent does. For example, if you want your child to sign-up to take French classes at school, you can make that decision even if the other parent would prefer your child to take Spanish classes.
When the education decision-making right is exclusive, this means that one joint managing conservator has the right to make that decision. For example, if you decide to have your child tested for dyslexia, you can make that decision alone. The other parent does not have the right to make that decision. But, the parent who makes the decision still needs to share the information about that decision with the other parent. While you don’t need their agreement, they need to know what decision you made.
When the education decision-making right is by joint agreement, the joint managing conservators need to come to an agreement about the education decision before it is made. For example, if you and your co-parent need to determine whether your child should be placed into a gifted and talented program, you simply communicate and make a decision that you both agree on. You might be thinking, what if my co-parent and I cannot come to an agreement about what decision to make? In such an instance, it is common for “tie-breaker” language to be added to a final order. Tie-breaker language designates a third person to resolve the disagreement between the parties. For educational decisions, it is common for the tie-breaker to be someone like the child’s teacher, principal, or guidance counselor.
- Private School
Parents sometimes make the decision to send their child to private school. If the parent who has the right to enroll the child in school desires to enroll a child in private school, the parents certainly need to discuss this. Most often, the parent who desires private school will be responsible for 100% of the school tuition. However, this may not be true if parents have come to a different agreement in their final order or the court makes a finding that attending private school is in the best interest of the child. For example, if you have the right to enroll your child in school, and you enroll your child in private school, you will have to pay for the entire cost of private school tuition on your own. However, if you and your co-parent have an agreement that you will each pay 50% of the cost of the tuition and that language also appears in your final order, then you would each pay 50% of the tuition. If you and your co-parent do not have such an agreement that appears in your final order, a court is most likely not going to order that your co-parent pay any part of the private school tuition. But, it is possible that a court could order that the co-parent pay for private school tuition if it is in the best interest of the child and the co-parent has sufficient expendable income to cover the cost; however, this does not occur very often. Why? Your child could certainly attend a Texas public school which has no tuition payment.
- Post-Secondary Education
Clients often wonder what happens with post-secondary or college. When a child turns 18 or graduates from high school, whichever comes later, child support ceases. A parent no longer has an obligation to continue supporting a child because they are a legal adult when this happens. A court is not going to order a parent, even one who was responsible for child support, to pay for a child’s college tuition, room and board or living expenses. Parties are certainly free to make such an agreement, but a court is not going to order a parent to pay for their child’s college tuition once that child has legally become an adult.
Understanding educational decision-making authority is hugely important for parents. Decisions about your child’s education are impactful from the time they start school until the time that they graduate from high school. Knowing your rights to make such decisions and how those rights are specified between the parties is key to successful co-parenting so that you can do what’s best for your child.
Consult with one of our Katy family law attorneys to learn what decision-making authority you have regarding your child’s ever-important learning and education.