Legal Question in Family Law in Virginia

gaurdianship laws pertaining to school enrollment

My 17 year old son resides in the state of Virginia with my parents and has lived with them all of his life. My parents recenly moved from West Virginia to Virginia (just over state line only 20 minutes) and so my son has always been in school there and when they moved he went to a private school. The decision this year was for my son to attend the local public school and when my mother tried to enroll him, she was told that because she does not have gaurdianship, she cannot enroll him. As the other schools have accepted him and this has never been an issue ny parents and I have never gone through any court matters to establish this, also due to the fact that my parents and I are not fighting over custody. When I called the court circuit and asked if I could file this motion for gaurdianship now and receive some type of notification for the school so that my son could at least be enrolled and we would be getting the process started, because we were told that it could be a long process, I was told that the school could still decide that this was not sufficient, and let him just walk out of school,what are laws regarding school just denying him when we are trying to do what they are requesting? I currently reside in CA.


Asked on 9/07/06, 10:45 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael Hendrickson Law Office Michael E. Hendrickson

Re: gaurdianship laws pertaining to school enrollment

Unfortunately, you have apparently been given correct information regarding the discretion which Virginia public schools have in deciding under what conditions a new student will be accepted when he or she resides with some one other than the natural parents. I would seriously doubt, nevertheless, whether any public school would actually reject any new student applicant who was residing with a bona fide guardian which is why the petition for guardianship in these cirumstances is generally filed in order to have the student accepted into the school system. And the petition for guardianship, FYI, is normally filed with the Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court rather than the Circuit Court and one doesn't need a lawyer to file it in this lower court.

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Answered on 9/08/06, 2:38 pm


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