In 1996, Mathew’s parents, Jesus Fuentes and Karen Fuentes were divorced. On August 1, 1996, “Order Directing Custody” was entered, granting Mathew’s mother exclusive custody of Mathew. Mathew attended New York City public schools, where he received special education services to accommodate his disability.
In 2000, because Mr. Fuentes believed that the education accommodations Mathew received were inadequate, he requested that Mathew be reevaluated for additional services. After the Committee on Special Education for the Hearing, Handicapped, and Visually Impaired determined that Mathew’s current services were adequate, Mr. Fuentes requested a hearing to review the committee’s determination. On January 8, 2001, the Impartial Hearing Office denied Fuentes’s request for a hearing. Its Chief Administrator based her denial on Mr. Fuentes’s custodial status. Because Mr. Fuentes was the non-custodial parent of Mathew, Chief Administrator determined that he was not the “person in parental relation” as defined in N.Y. Educ. Law § 3212 concluded that Mr. Fuentes did not have the right to participate in educational decisions affecting Mathew and refused to process his father’s requests.
Mr. Fuentes, the non-custodial biological father, brought an action in the Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York against the Board of Education of the City of New York, under 42 USC §1983 and 20 USC §1415(f)(1) [IDEA], to review the City’s assessment of his son’s special educational needs and to be granted an impartial hearing for reconsideration of the City’s determination that his son did not need more special education than what he was receiving. After determining that, under New York law, a non-custodial biological parent has no right to make special education decisions, absent a court order or agreement between the parties affording such rights to the non-custodial parent, the Federal Court for the Eastern District of New York dismissed the complaint for lack of standing [FRCP 12(b) and (c)].
The Second Circuit held that although the First and Second Departments of the Appellate Division have held that a non-custodial parent, absent an order or agreement to the contrary, has no right to make educational decisions, the Second Circuit chose to have New York’s Court of Appeals definitively state the law of New York and, thus, certified the following question: “Whether, under New York law, the biological and non-custodial parent of a child retains the right to participate in decisions pertaining to the education of the child where (1) the custodial parent is granted exclusive custody of the child and (2) the divorce decree and custody order are silent as to the right to control such decisions.” Fuentes v. Bd. of Ed. of City of New York.
I have previously written about the custodial arrangements and the right of decision-making associated with each type of custody, and while there are many decisions on this issue from the Appellate Division, the Court of Appeals so far has not issued a definitive ruling on this issue. When the Court of Appeals decides this case, this is likely to be the controlling statement of New York law on the rights of non-custodial parents with respect to their right to be involved in educational and other decisions affecting their children. The Court of Appeals is likely to issue its decision in the next few months.