My Child Is Out of School Because of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Do I Follow My Washington State Parenting Plan’s Holiday Schedule?

One of the many questions that has come to our office in light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, is how it is being dealt with in Washington State parenting plans. Specifically, do parents follow the school schedule or a holiday/summer schedule while their child is out of school because of COVID-19?

This is an excellent question. And there is clear guidance on this issue from the Clark County Superior Court. The Clark County Superior Court recently provided the following advisory language to parents and attorneys:

Spring/Summer Break, Vacation and/or Holidays:
While school may be out of session at this time, this is not considered summer break, spring break, or a holiday. Parents shall follow the holiday and school break residential schedules in place at the beginning of the school year.

This language is pretty clear: you should be following the regular school schedule, rather than the summer schedule in your parenting plan. When your child is on spring break, you should follow the schedule set forth in your parenting plan for spring break. In short, you should be maintaining consistency in your child’s residential schedule as much as possible.

The full text of the Clark County Superior Court’s information related to coronavirus (COVID-19) can be found here: https://www.clark.wa.gov/superior-court/covid-19-family-law-information

We at Joshua J. Bean, PLLC understand that you may have many additional questions related to your divorce or custody case and how it is impacted by COVID-19. We are, therefore, offering free 30-minute telephone consultations to help you with these issues. Please call at 360-695-3695 to set one up.