Is it illegal for a teacher to communicate with a parent who does not have custody of a child?

I have a student whose parents are apparently divorced--I didn't know this. Both parents emails are listed in the contact information. One parent wrote me asking for an update on how the student was doing in school, and I wrote him back with answers. He asked if I could let him know when homework was overdue. So I did. Now the mother is angry because she says she has custody and we're not to communicate with the father. I never received any notification of this in writing or otherwise--I was just told by a colleague "Oh, she gets pissed if you talk to the dad..." Now if he inquires in the future, am I not to respond? Not quite sure how to deal with this...thank you!

trooper3316

Do not confuse "primary custody" with "primary placement". Your mother has primary placement, but your father still has joint custody, unless those rights were taken away by the court. If his rights were taken away, they would not have his contact information.

There is no legal reason for your mother to tell you not to communicate with your father.

lucy

You respond until otherwise told not to by a school administrator. You cannot legally with hold information unless documentation exists in the child's record and this documentation comes from the court system. The mom is mad and wants to take it out on you.

Gillian B

I'm pretty sure that's not illegal. It sounds like there's just a lot of hostility on the mother's part. It's too bad she doesn't realize she's hurting her child by depriving him/her of their father.

Skitzee2k

Contact the mother and ask for the court order that says a father cannot ask about their child. If she produces one THEN stop the communication. Until then she should be assumed to have as much right to information about the child as the father does.

LovesTheConstitution

Unless the father's rights are terminated or unless the court specifically limited the father's rights, your act was not unlawful (and probably not actionable).

Report this incident to your principal.

Custody alone does not exclude the other parent from information. It does limit what decisions the non-custodial parent can make for the child, however.

laughter_every_day

You are talking about local policy, not some universal law. There is no national law that precludes you from talking about students to your bartender if you wish to do so. If you want to know local policy, talk to your principal.

Dana B

It depends...if the mom has primary *physical* custody and the parents have joint *legal* custody, then the dad has as much right to know stuff about the child as the mom does. But if the mom has sole physical *and* legal custody, she has the right to restrict what you tell the dad. Since this is an issue, I would ask the mom to provide a copy of the custody order for the school's files, then go by what it says.

smedrik

I would take this to your school administrator.

Having custody does not mean she is the only one with the right to know about the well being of the child.

She has put you in the middle of an ugly situation and it is unreasonable and unfair for her to do this.

Tell your school administrator about the situation and forward off the communications and allow him or her to decide what is the best course for you to take.

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