A custody schedule that works during the summer can become difficult almost as soon as the school year starts.
Summer often leaves more room for flexible pickup times and changes in routine. Your child may not have to prepare for an early school morning, complete homework before bedtime, or get to practice in the middle of a custody exchange.
Once school starts, that flexibility can disappear quickly. An exchange that seems manageable during the summer may begin affecting sleep, transportation, activities, and the time your child has to prepare for the next day. As the new school year approaches, you may be wondering whether the current parenting schedule can realistically work once classes resume.
Perhaps your child is starting kindergarten, moving to a new school, or entering a grade with more demanding assignments. Your schedule or the other parent’s work and childcare responsibilities may also be changing. You and the other parent may now live farther apart, or an exchange time that once seemed reasonable may leave your child getting home late once school-night routines resume.
When the current parenting plan may no longer fit your child’s school-year routine, you do not necessarily have to wait for problems to develop after classes begin. Depending on the circumstances, you and the other parent may be able to discuss practical adjustments, or either parent can ask the court to modify the existing order.
The right approach depends on whether both parents agree, what the current order requires, and how the schedule affected your child previously or is likely to affect your child during the upcoming school year.
Why a Custody Schedule Can Stop Working When School Starts
Parenting plans cannot anticipate every change in a child’s routine. As the new school year approaches, parents may realize that arrangements that are easy to manage during the summer could create repeated problems with exchanges, transportation, activities, and school-night responsibilities once classes begin.
Problems that may arise once school begins include:
- Late school-night exchanges: Your child may arrive at the other parent’s home with little time for dinner, homework, and sleep.
- Transportation disagreements: The order may not clearly state who is responsible for school drop-off, bus transportation, or travel to activities.
- Conflicts with extracurricular activities: Practices, games, lessons, or school events may overlap with a scheduled exchange.
- Gaps in school communication: When one parent is not receiving teacher messages, activity schedules, or notices about assignments and conferences, coordinating homework, transportation, and school events becomes more difficult.
- Distance between the homes and school: A schedule can become difficult when one parent faces a substantially longer school commute.
An occasional inconvenience does not necessarily require a new custody order. However, if the same problem repeatedly disrupted your child’s routine during the previous school year, or an upcoming change is likely to create a continuing conflict, it may be worth reviewing whether the current order will still work.
Can Parents Agree to Change the Schedule on Their Own?
Parents can often make occasional scheduling adjustments when they communicate and agree on the change. You might agree to move an exchange by an hour, switch a weekday, or arrange for one parent to take the child to a recurring activity.
That flexibility can be helpful, especially when both parents communicate well. Even so, an informal agreement, whether verbal or written, does not automatically replace the existing custody order. Problems can arise when you and the other parent remember the terms differently or when one parent later stops following the arrangement.
If the new arrangement is expected to continue, putting the terms in writing can help prevent misunderstandings. You and the other parent can also submit the agreed arrangement to the court as a proposed consent order so the enforceable schedule reflects the arrangement you intend to follow.
Until the order is changed, avoid assuming that you no longer need to comply with it. Withholding custody time or repeatedly changing exchanges without agreement can create a separate dispute.
How Do You Modify a Custody Schedule in Pennsylvania?
If both parents agree on a continuing schedule change, they can submit their proposed arrangement to the court for approval. If they do not agree, the parent requesting the change can file a petition to modify the custody order. Under Pennsylvania law, a court may modify a custody order when the change would serve the child’s best interests.
You do not have to prove that an emergency occurred before asking the court to modify the order. You also do not necessarily have to wait until an anticipated school-year problem has caused months of disruption before discussing whether modification may be appropriate.
The reason for the requested change still matters. You should be prepared to explain what did not work previously or what is expected to change, how the issue affects or is likely to affect your child, and why the proposed schedule would function better.
Relevant circumstances can include:
- A new school or substantially different school-day schedule
- Changed work or childcare responsibilities
- Increased travel time between the homes and school
- Recurring conflicts involving exchanges or activities
- A schedule that no longer meets the child’s current educational and developmental needs
The procedure varies by county and may also depend on whether the parents agree, whether prior custody proceedings have occurred, and what issues remain disputed. The process may include a conference, conciliation, mediation, or hearing. Even after a petition is filed, the parents can still reach an agreement and submit it for court approval.
At Louis Wm. Martini, Jr., P.C., we understand that a problem with the school-year schedule is rarely limited to one exchange time. The existing order, your child’s routine, each parent’s responsibilities, and the practical effect of a proposed change should all be considered together.
What Will a Pennsylvania Court Consider Before Changing Custody?
A Pennsylvania court does not decide a custody modification based solely on which schedule is easiest for either parent. The court must evaluate the child’s best interests under the custody factors in 23 Pa.C.S. § 5328.
The court considers all relevant custody factors, including:
- Safety concerns: The court considers which parent is more likely to ensure the child’s safety, as well as any history of abuse, relevant child protective services involvement, or violent or assaultive behavior.
- Cooperation between the parties: The court may consider the level of cooperation and conflict between the parents, including whether each parent supports appropriate contact with the other parent when that contact is consistent with the child’s safety.
- The child’s needs and daily care: The court considers each parent’s willingness and ability to provide appropriate care, stability, and continuity while attending to the child’s physical, emotional, developmental, educational, and special needs.
- Stability and continuity: The court considers the need for stability in the child’s education, family life, and community life.
- Family relationships: The court considers the child’s relationships with siblings and other family members.
- The child’s preference: The court may consider a well-reasoned preference based on the child’s developmental stage, maturity, and judgment.
- Practical scheduling considerations: The court considers the proximity of the parents’ homes, each parent’s employment schedule, availability to care for the child, and ability to make appropriate childcare arrangements.
The court can also consider any other circumstance relevant to the child’s best interests.
Pennsylvania law requires courts to give substantial weighted consideration to the statutory factors affecting the child’s safety. No single factor automatically decides the case. The court considers the full circumstances and how the proposed arrangement would affect the child.
In a dispute involving the upcoming school year, the court may consider how the current and proposed schedules have affected or are likely to affect the child’s routine, education, stability, and other needs.
A request that focuses only on personal convenience or conflict with the other parent can lose sight of the question the court must answer: What arrangement serves the child’s best interests?
What if the Other Parent Refuses to Discuss a Change?
If both parents are complying with the written order but the schedule did not work well during the prior school year or is unlikely to work once school resumes, a petition to modify may be an appropriate step.
If the other parent is willfully refusing to follow clear terms of the existing order, such as repeatedly denying scheduled exchanges or failing to return the child as required, you may need legal guidance about enforcement or contempt options. Contempt generally requires more than a misunderstanding or isolated mistake; the court will consider whether the parent willfully failed to follow the order.
Keep a factual record of problems that occurred under the prior school-year schedule, as well as relevant information about upcoming changes. Note the dates of past incidents, what occurred, any related communication, and how the issue affected your child or the scheduled exchange.
You may also want to preserve school calendars, activity schedules, work schedules, transportation information, and other records that help explain why the problem is likely to continue or arise once school begins.
Written communications can become relevant in a custody dispute, so keep your messages factual, respectful, and focused on the child rather than using them to trade accusations.
What Can You Do if the Current Schedule Is Not Working?
Start by reading the current custody order carefully. Confirm what it says about exchanges, school transportation, activities, communication, and decision-making. Compare those terms with the upcoming school calendar, transportation arrangements, extracurricular schedules, and each parent’s expected work and childcare responsibilities.
Then identify the specific problem rather than focusing only on the broader conflict. Consider when it occurred during the previous school year or when it is likely to arise after classes resume, how frequently it may affect the schedule, and what it could mean for your child’s school week. If direct communication is appropriate, propose a practical solution in writing and keep the discussion focused on your child.
If you reach an agreement that is intended to continue, consider whether it should be submitted to the court as a proposed consent order. A family law attorney can also help when the existing order is unclear, the other parent will not discuss a workable solution, or unilateral schedule changes are already creating additional conflict.
Speak With a Media, PA Child Custody Attorney About Your Next Steps
You do not have to wait until the new school year begins to seek guidance about whether an anticipated scheduling problem calls for an informal adjustment, a proposed consent order, or a formal request to modify custody. Understanding what the existing order requires and how Pennsylvania’s best-interest standard applies can help you make a more informed decision for your family.
At Louis Wm. Martini, Jr., P.C., we help parents in Media, Delaware County, Chester County, Montgomery County, and throughout Southeast Pennsylvania understand their options when an existing custody schedule no longer works.
Attorney Louis Martini has more than 30 years of courtroom experience and has heard cases as a Master in Delaware County. Our firm recognizes the value of reaching a practical agreement when possible while remaining prepared to address the matter in court when the parents cannot agree.
We can review the existing order, explain your options, help you pursue a workable agreement, and represent you if court action becomes necessary. Contact Louis Wm. Martini, Jr., P.C. to schedule a consultation with a Media, PA child custody attorney and discuss the next steps available in your circumstances.
Disclaimer: This blog is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal advice. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship. If you need legal advice about your specific situation, please contact our law firm directly.