Legal Question in Family Law in California
Hi, I am hoping you can help with this. My daughter is in special education classes in a LAUSD school. When we first put my daughter in school, we were living with my mother. Therefore, we were able to use my mother's address for residency. We have since moved and although we moved soon after enrolling her in school (which the district was aware of), they allowed her to continuing attending the school. Next year, she will enter the second grade. Unfortunately, the special education program is not offered at her current school so she will have to go to a different school. Unfortunately, they are saying that my daughter has to attend the school of residence which is where I live. They will not allow me to use my mother's address as her primary residence in spite of the fact that my mother is her primary caretaker while my husband and I are at work. The school that she would have to attend is a sub standard school in that it has a poor performance record. In addition, it is not ethnically diverse in that it is 90% Hispanic and only 2% Black(w are African American). 50% of the students are monolingual. My daughter has a speech/language disability and has difficulty in the area of receptive communication. I feel that attending a school that is not ethnically diverse ( with more European American and African American students) where she is unable to communicate with her peers will inhibit her ability to learn. I have talked to the school district about my concerns and they told me that my reason for wanting to change schools is not a justifiable reason. My mother already cares for our children the majority of the day, and makes major decisions for my kids, attends medical appointments, etc. Is it possible to give my mother joint custody or have a joint guardianship with her? If so, how do I go about this?
1 Answer from Attorneys
If you want your mother to be a guardian for your child, your mother would have to petition the court for guardianship. You should consult with your local self help center for additional information on guardianship. Moreover, there are a wealth of books available for the self help individual.
For self represented individuals you can consult with the family law facilitator self help center at your local court house.
As always please consult a local attorney prior to taking legal action. Good luck. Also please check out my Santa Clara County Family Lawyer blog.
Law Offices James Chau
1625 The Alameda Suite 204
San Jose, CA. 95126
http://www.jameschaulaw.com/
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