Private school education in Texas can be very expensive when two parents are paying for it, and after a divorce many custodial parents find themselves unable to meet the expense. Most non-custodial parents are responsible for paying basic child support, but that amount is usually not enough to cover private school. However in some cases, the custodial parent may be able to get additional support that is specifically earmarked for the child’s private education.

Designated child support for private school tuition is usually settled in court. The judge will listen to both parents’ sides and consider the facts. If the child was already enrolled in private school before the divorce, the court is more likely to rule in favor of additional child support.

There’s still a chance that the court will order the non-custodial parent to pay a portion of the child’s tuition even if that child was not previously enrolled in private school as long as the parents had discussed it and were planning to provide the child with a private education while they were still married. This is especially true if the parent who is being ordered to pay a portion of the tuition only objects during the monetary negotiations.

Costs of raising a child are large enough even without factoring in private school tuition and fees. Judges base their child support orders largely on state guidelines, but they do have some amount of leeway. An attorney for a custodial parent who is seeking additional support for a child who is already in private school could argue that forcing the child to move to a public school and lose the friendships that have been developed would not be in the youngster’s best interests.