J9110b - Release of Students During Attendance Hours - Custodial Conflict

1. Absent a legal decree to the contrary, each parent has equal legal authority to remove his or her child from school during attendance hours.
2. Decrees for dissolution of marriage or of separation showing care and custody of minor children are best evidence of the right to custody. Anytime a parent informs the school of a potential custodial conflict, the principal should request a certified true copy of the decree establishing custodial rights. The principal should inform the counselor, secretary, teachers, and other appropriate staff of the potential problem and the procedures to follow.

PROCEDURES

The following procedures are to be followed after a parent has notified the principal of a custodial conflict, and has established that he or she has legal custody of the child.

1. Request that the custodial parent provide the school with names of persons who are permitted to remove the child from school during attendance hours.
2. Inform the custodial parent that, except as otherwise provided by court order, only those persons so identified will be permitted to remove the child from school during attendance hours unless the custodial parent expressly authorizes an exception.
3. Subsequently, if any person requests to remove the child from school during attendance hours without express permission from the custodial parent, the request must be denied until one of the following conditions is met:
   1. The custodial parent gives express permission for the requesting person to remove the child from school, or
   2. The person requesting to remove the child presents a certified true copy of a decree establishing his or her custody of the child.
      1. The principal or designee will recognize the change in custody after determining the validity of the change-in-custody court order and before the release will make a reasonable effort to contact the parent who initially had established custody of the child.
4. When a change in custody is recognized by the school, the procedures described in this section should be implemented with the new custodial parent.