Most states, including Colorado, make all family court decisions with the child’s best interests as their highest priority. Unless there are mitigating circumstances proven in court, judges consider continued close contact with both parents to be in the best interests of children. Most divorced or non-married parents share custody of their children with a parenting-time plan allowing each parent to share in their child’s physical custody and decision-making authority (legal custody).
Less commonly, one parent may be awarded full legal custody, giving them sole authority to make important decisions for their child, including medical and educational decisions. In cases of sole legal custody of a child, the parent with legal custody makes all decisions about school choice, though the court may require the parent to inform and consult with the other parent. But what happens when both parents have joint custody and reach an impasse about where their child attends school? Contact our child custody attorneys in Denver, CO to review your case and get you the best possible outcome for you and your child.
Since 1993, Colorado has been one of the majority of states that no longer mandates that children attend the public school of their district but instead allows parents to choose charter schools or other schools outside of their district. Colorado’s school choice legislation states the following:
“Colorado has both mandatory interdistrict and intradistrict open enrollment programs. Students in Colorado can apply to attend a school outside of neighborhood school attendance boundaries, either in their district or another Colorado public school district.”
During the divorce process, parents create a shared parenting plan for child custody with the help of their lawyers and professional mediation. If they have unresolved disputes over their parenting arrangement, they present their arguments to the judge who decides child custody—including decision-making authority—in the child’s best interest. In most custody cases, where the child attends school is included in the initial settlement agreement or judge’s order. Factors that impact the decision include, where and with whom the child resides for a majority of the time, a child’s continuity if they’ve attended a specific school for some time, and whether or not a child has special needs or advanced aptitude.
If a dispute arises during the divorce, the judge makes the final binding decision, but what happens when divorced parents already have a joint custody agreement but a dispute arises because one parent wishes to change their child’s school or their child enters middle or high school?
If divorced parents with joint custody cannot reach an agreement on school choice, they must make their cases to a judge in the trial court of their jurisdiction. If you are looking to begin divorce proceedings along with a child custody case, contact our Denver divorce lawyers for assistance.
When one parent petitions the court to resolve a dispute over school choice, the judge hears arguments from both sides and reviews all information in the case before deciding. Relevant factors a judge considers include the following:
The best-case scenario in school choice disputes between divorced parents occurs when both parents can communicate and compromise effectively and reach a decision on their child’s school without the need for a court to resolve the dispute.
Parents know their child and their situation better than a judge. When they can come to a mutual agreement on where their child attends school, it’s beneficial for the child. Unfortunately, sometimes it isn’t possible or even advisable to compromise on a child’s best interests. In these cases, a Denver child custody attorney is the best advocate for a parent to obtain an optimal outcome in a school choice dispute. Call Ciancio Cianico Brown, P.C. today for a consultation to learn more about your rights in your child’s school choice decision.
