Who makes IEP decisions when a child's parents are divorced?

Until a court order says otherwise, both parents have equal rights to make decisions about their children. A common court order is for parties to share joint legal custody, wherein both parents have an equal right to make decisions regarding the health, welfare, and education of their child. However, there can be all sorts of legal custody variations, so the specific terms of the court's legal custody order will dictate who has the right to make the decisions, whether certain decisions require mutual agreement, and other issues.

If both parties share educational rights and one agrees with the school while the other does not, the school may use the one party’s agreement to their advantage in resolving the dispute. Schools are not under any obligation to be aware of the parents’ marital status or the terms of their settlement, so often they will accept one parent’s signature as consent for an assessment or an IEP.

It's also possible that the school will be at a standstill until the parents agree. For example, if parents have 50/50 custody and share educational rights, and they want separate things, then the school might decide to wait for the parents to resolve the issue through mediation or court. Some parents decide to seek a court order for tie-breaking power when they disagree.

Whether or not parties will need an attorney to resolve educational decisions will greatly depend on their individual situation. Parties may need an attorney in situations including custody disputes, child support issues, special education needs, possibly dealing with disputes with schools or school districts, or any legal proceedings related to the welfare of the child.

For more information, see our full article Navigating Divorce and Co-Parenting Children with Disabilities.