Family Law

Family Law News VOLUME 44, ISSUE 1, SPRING 2022

DOES THE JUDGMENT MAKE CLEAR "IN WHOSE JUDGEMENT"? EDUCATIONAL RIGHTS HOLDERS AND SPECIAL EDUCATION

Written by Matthew J. Becker*

I. KIDS CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE

Divorces can be messy, antagonistic affairs which take a major toll not only on the participants (adults) but on the non-participants (children) as well. In the haste to craft a settlement agreement acceptable to both sides, a joint custody agreement commonly asks parties to "share in the responsibility and discuss in good faith matters concerning the . . . education . . . of the children."1 This author contends that this provision actually muddies the waters where it should not, as it inserts a good faith clause to discuss issues rather than specifically outlining who, what, where and when as to decisions regarding the education of children.

Attorneys who focus on special education matters want clarity s a goal – not a superficial détente – about what divorced parents can, and cannot, do as far as educational choices for their children. Otherwise, it too often becomes one parent pitted against another. It is not an education attorney’s downstream job to referee divorced parents. School districts will, invariably, back the status quo – or the parent who is resisting action to change it. The sad fact is the child loses in a case like this and it is a more common scenario than might be understood.

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