Cordova, TN asked in Child Custody, Education Law and Family Law for Arkansas

Q: Does a noncustodial parent where no court order of custody is present have the right to request school records?

1 Lawyer Answer

A: The question is a little confusing, but I am assuming that since there is no court order and you refer to a non-custodial parent, that the parents were never married. In Arkansas, the mother of a child born outside of wedlock automatically has custody of him or her. The father has to establish paternity (either through a dna test or an affidavit acknowledging paternity) and then obtain a court order for custody and/or visitation rights. Generally, a putative father of a child born outside of marriage would not have rights to the child's school records, unless the mother gave the school permission to release the records to him.

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