Frisco, Collin County & Denton County Law Blog

By now, schools are used to students who have divorced parents. However, some schools and teachers are better at handling these situations than others. Still, you and your co-parent should expect a minimum of consideration from the school.

To that end, here is a look at how schools should communicate with co-parents who have legal custody of their children.

Parent-teacher conferences are often a joyous occasion. In addition to meeting your child’s teachers and getting acquainted with their curriculum, you may learn about your kid’s success in class and hear more about her or his academic strengths. You will likely emerge from the conference a proud parent, but the stress from sharing the time with your ex may put a damper on the excitement and pride you should be feeling.

It is important to develop some co-parenting strategies prior to attending the parent-teacher conference. Utilizing the following tips can help prevent tension and ensure the meeting is a productive discussion of your child’s academic performance. 

Getting a visit from Child Protective Services is one of the things a parent dreads the most. Finding out that someone is questioning your parenting skills and feels as if the state needs to intervene can be a frightening, infuriating and humiliating experience. However, you are far from alone. Countless parents in Texas and elsewhere receive visits from CPS, and most cases find a resolution without having the children taken away.

Even so, this can be an uncertain time as you worry about the outcome of your case and whether you might lose your children. If you get a knock on your door and it turns out to be a social worker with CPS, stay calm and remember the following tips:

• Ask to see the social worker’s warrant. You do not have to let CPS into your home without a court warrant, no matter how intimidating they are.
• You can tell the social worker you need time to get in contact with your attorney. The worker will likely schedule another visit, but this will give you time to prepare for the visit and seek legal counsel.
• The social worker may return with law enforcement. You may ask again to see a warrant, but the law may require you to let the CPS worker into your home this time.
• During the visit, remain polite but answer questions briefly and to the point. Do not offer additional information or appear overly helpful. The CPS worker’s job is to make sure your children are safe and well cared for, but he or she is not your friend.
• Ask for the social worker’s contact information. A business card is ideal. If you decide to record the visit for your protection, you must inform the CPS worker that you are doing so.

When a Texas couple with minor children divorces, the custody order is a necessary and important part of the divorce judgment. Parents must continue to follow the order, as failing to do so can involve legal consequences and may ultimately even affect custody.

However, circumstances can change. Sometimes an order that made perfect sense initially may no longer work in a new situation. When this happens, you may request a modification of the custody order.