It's back to school time, but this year is not normal. More than 400 of New Jersey's public and private school districts are starting the 2020-2021 school year with a hybrid model combining in-class and at-home learning, while another 242 districts will open all-remote. At the very least, this means more supervisory time for parents, which takes time away from other things, like employment. Likely it will also mean having to be more involved in the learning process itself.

Inevitably, divorced couples will need to cooperate in sharing the additional work associated with the kids being back in school. This might take the form of adjusting parenting schedules to accommodate work schedules as well as school at home schedules. Many parenting plans leave the children with one parent during the school week while the other parent mostly sees the children on weekends. However, the increased demands of learning from home may mean that the school week time may need to be shared so that each parent can keep up with work commitments.

If you find yourself in this situation, it is important that you have something in writing reflecting the new schedule and the fact that it is only meant to be a temporary change (specify when it will end, such as when the children are allowed to start attending school in person). In addition, if the change in parenting responsibilities is significant, it may also be important to discuss whether there should be any temporary changes in child support as well. Contact The Law Office of Joseph A. DiPiazza, LLC at (201) 494-2800 to schedule a legal consultation for any questions you may have about the divorce process or parenting time during COVID-19.