Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Pennsylvania

Thank you for your question,

In Pennsylvania, a chld is still considered a minor until age 18, or until the child graduates from high school, whichever is later. Therefore, the child is still considered a minor and the custody agreement, or the custody Order signed by the Judge will control. There are different types of custody; there is physical custody, legal custody, and a combination of the two. Primary physical custody means that one parent has physical custody the majority of the time and the other parent has partial custody which many refer to as �visitation�. The second type of custody is �legal custody�. The parent who has legal custody has the right to make the major decisions affecting the child, such as education, religion, medical procedures, and the like.

There is also shared or joint physical and legal custody where both parents have physical custody an equal amount of time and major decisions are made jointly where both parents share in making these decisions.

Therefore, applying these legal principles to your fact situation, the parents must look to the custody agreement or the custody Order to determine which parent has legal custody and, therefore, has the right to make the decision on the child�s education. If the custodial parent has �legal� custody, then that parent has the right to make the educational decisions affecting the child. However, a parent has the right to take the other parent to Court, if they believe that the parent who is making these decisions is not acting in the bests interests of the child. If the parent is making decisions contrary to a custody agreement or custody Order, the proper procedure would be a Petition for Contempt. If the decision-making parent has a pattern of making decisions which are not in the best interests of the child, then it would be better for the other parent to file a Petition to Amend Custody and seek a change in the custody arrangements.

Let me know if you have any further questions.

Kindest regards,

ANDREA G. TILLIS