Interim educational decision-making responsibility
Decision: 2023 BCSC 2167 Court: Supreme Court of British Columbia Date: June 26, 2023 Read the full decision on CanLII ↗
Counsel’s Comments
“Judges do not have the legal authority to order what school a child attends; only a child’s guardians (usually parents) have that right. In circumstances where the parents cannot agree on a particular school, the court will award one parent with “sole decision-making authority” regarding the child’s education. In this case our client and her ex-husband were practicing Catholics and as a condition of their marriage they committed to raising their child in the Catholic faith. Upon separation the ex-husband alleged he had renounced his faith and sought to enroll their son in the public school system instead of the previously agreed-to Catholic private school where our client was employed as a teacher. The court ultimately found that the child’s attendance at Catholic school would not negatively affect his relationship with his father and was in the child’s best interest. Our client was granted sole parental responsibilities over their child’s education. Her ex-husband was ordered to pay her court costs.”
— Matthew Brandon
Legal issue
Which parent should have final decision-making responsibility for the child’s education.
Key provisions: Family Law Act, including ss. 41 and 45.
Judicial outcome
The court allocated interim responsibility for education under s. 41(d) to the claimant. Costs were in the cause.