Does Your Child’s School Bus Policy Allow for Your Parenting Plan?

How could a Jacksonville child custody attorney help?

In general, it is preferable for divorced parents with joint custody to live in the same school zone of where their children attend school. This allows the children to have as stable a life as possible when calling two separate households "home." It makes it possible for the children to maximize time with each parent while minimizing transportation time. Valuable parenting time can be wasted in situations where one parent lives farther away from the child's school. Quality time with your children is much better accomplished at the dinner table than in rush hour traffic.

It is important to learn about your children's school bus policy when both parents do live in the same school zone. Some schools may have a policy in place that doesn't allow for a child to be on a different bus route on different days or to be let off at a different stop on some days. This can throw a wrench into the works of divorced parents trying to hold jobs and also be with their children as much as possible on their time sharing schedule.

As an example, a south Florida man is finding out first-hand how difficult it can be to get his child's school to recognize that modifications need to be made to their bus policy. The child's school only recognizes one residence for the boy even though the parents have joint custody of their son. Both parents live within the school zone and both homes are legal residences for their children. The father is fighting to get the school to allow his son to take a different bus route that will take him to his house on his parenting days. This arrangement would make it so he doesn't have to miss any work or send his son to his mother's house, thus decreasing the time he would have to spend with him.

Do you know your rights when it comes to joint custody?

There are many factors that must be considered when developing a joint custody parenting plan and a Jacksonville divorce attorney may be able to help. A dedicated lawyer with Hutchinson Law carefully reviews all the aspects of child custody matters to ensure the client's goals and rights are provided for. When it comes to your children, don't settle for anything less than skilled and competent family law representation!

Contact a Jacksonville child custody lawyer at the firm today if you need help constructing or modifying a parenting plan.