The Impact of Child Custody Issues on School Safety (Part 1)
Developing appropriate school policies and following court orders and state laws can minimize your campus’ liability exposure as well as prevent child abuse, workplace violence and domestic violence.
The actions men must take to become legal fathers depend on state law but usually include signing a paternity affidavit at the time of the child’s birth, establishing paternity in court, and/or being married to the mother at the time of the birth of the child and remaining married or obtaining a divorce. If parties are not sure of the status of the man, DNA testing may be done to ensure the man is the biological father of the child.
Know the Difference Between Legal and Physical Custody
If a parent says he or she has custody, school officials must ask for more information. There are two basic types of custody, legal custody
and physical custody.
A parent with legal custody has authority and responsibility for decision making regarding a child’s medical care, education and religion. With joint legal custody, the parents share in the decision making and turn to the court if they cannot agree.
A parent with physical custody has the physical care, possession, supervision and control of a child. Physical custody does not give the custodian the right to keep the child away from the other parent. Often the other parent will have parenting time.
Related Article: Adopting Appropriate Policies for Screening Volunteers
There are two basic types of physical custody, sole or primary custody and split or shared custody. A mother or a father may exercise sole or primary custody. A mother and a father may exercise shared or split physical custody. The details of the arrangements for shared or split custody should be specifically spelled out in the documentation or court order.
Many people call shared or split custody “joint physical custody.” This is easily confused with joint legal custody, which concerns decision making only and not physical custody. Parents will say they have “joint custody,” which is a meaningless phrase from a legal standpoint. This is why school officials should ask questions and ask for written documentation or court orders.
Parents with shared or split physical custody do complicate things for the school. For example, If Billy lives with his mother from Sunday at 6p.m. until Thursday at 6p.m. and with his father from Thursday at 6p.m. until Sunday at 6p.m., the father may not send a note to school and authorize a third party to pick up Billy from school on Tuesday, because the mother has physical custody on Tuesday. The father may send the note to school to authorize a third party to pick up Billy on Friday, because the father has physical custody on Friday.
Read Part 2 of this series on child custody and school safety.
Gerald Eugene Summers is a Crisis Intervention Team member, School Safety/Healthy Children Instructor, and an Advanced School Specialist in Indiana. He is President and CEO of Integrity Security Protection LLC, a safety and security consulting and training firm in Evansville Indiana. Contact him at ispinc@wowway.com or gesah94@wowway.com.
Sue Ann Hartig was Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Evansville Inc. for over 26 years, the first female judicial officer in Vanderburgh County, and City Attorney for the City of Evansville. Hartig is Vice President and CFO of Integrity Security Protection, LLC, a safety and security consulting and training firm in Evansville, Indiana. Contact her at ispinc@wowway.com
Notice: This article contains educational information, not legal advice. Check with an attorney for case-specific policies and procedures and state laws.
Photo by Yogendra174 via Compfight
If you appreciated this article and want to receive more valuable industry content like this, click here to sign up for our FREE digital newsletters!
Related Content
Leading in Turbulent Times: Effective Campus Public Safety Leadership for the 21st Century
This new webcast will discuss how campus public safety leaders can effectively incorporate Clery Act, Title IX, customer service, “helicopter” parents, emergency notification, town-gown relationships, brand management, Greek Life, student recruitment, faculty, and more into their roles and develop the necessary skills to successfully lead their departments. Register today to attend this free webcast!
