By American law, separated parents are obligated to choose a school for their child, especially if the child has to start either elemantary or high school. Unless the court decides otherwise, parents must do this. They will have to discuss and come to a unanimous decision. If, by any chance, the parents cannot agree, mediators will be involved to help them find a common ground.
If you and your ex-partner need guidance on choosing the right school for your child after divorce, you can speak to a professional family lawyer and discuss your options. A family lawyer can even help with finding a mediator if you and your ex-partner cannot agree on one decision together.
How to choose the right school for your child after divorce?
Choosing the right school for your child is necessary. Taking some critical factors like the location, affordability, whether the school suits the child’s needs, etc, into consideration is imperative.
It must be by joint agreement.
The choice of a school for your child must be decided unanimously by both you and your ex-partner. The decision cannot be one-sided. Both parties have to be in agreement. Most cases involve the child’s biological mother and father only, but some include step-parents and other family members.
Not one parent can be the dominant one in the decision-making. This will naturally lead to the court expecting the parents to work together and come up with a decision. They can both look around for options and research the best kinds of schools for their child.
The child’s welfare must be the most crucial consideration for the parents. Therefore, the school decision must be made in the child’s best interests rather than what is more convenient for the parent.
Private education vs non-private education.
Most places consider Private education a luxury because of the high private school fees. Keeping that in mind, after the parents’ separation, if the child’s private education is unaffordable, they can be moved to non-private schools. But every decision is carefully calculated, keeping the child’s welfare in mind.
However, if the child is already attending private school, making them move schools in the middle could be unfair and also damaging to the child. Also, making sure to treat a child equally as their siblings is a crucial factor in these cases as these decisions emotionally affect the children. If the child’s siblings attend private education, they should be treated equally and put into private to prevent the child from developing conflicting feelings.