School is a major factor in a child's life, both in terms of the number of hours
spent there and the education received there. It is extremely important that a
guardian ad litem examine the educational situation for the child involved, even
if the child is a pre-schooler. The links on the left provide detailed information
about many of the educational issues a guardian might encounter.
Issues to look for and address:
- How old is the child and what grade is he/she in?
- What school is the child attending?
- How many schools has the child attended?
- Is the child being home schooled?
- Is the child regularly attending school?
- Is the child passing?
- Is the child disabled?
- If so, is it a physical disability, learning disability, or emotional disability?
- Has the school identified the child as disabled?
- Does the child require educational modifications?
- Can the parents cooperate to address the child's educational needs?
- Have the parents been involved with their child's education?
- Does the student have a trusting relationship with a teacher or other staff
member at school?
These issues are crucial to consider when making recommendations regarding the
best interests of the children since they are directly related to factors set
out in 19-A M.R.S.A. § 1653.
In exploring these factors, you will be considering both primary residence
and whether parental rights and responsibilities should be shared, allocated
or sole. If parents cannot agree on educational factors, such as whether the
child should be home schooled, whether the child is special ed, what types of
services the child should be receiving if special ed, then serious consideration
should be given to allocated rights to one parent for educational purposes.
Medical decisions may be tied in to educational purposes if the child is a special
education student, and religious decisions may also tie in to educational decisions
if a private religious school or home schooling is an issue.