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I don’t live in NYC, and that is why the situation is different. The public high schools here are academically superior to the Catholic school. It’s suburbia, with no crime-ridden inner city public high schools. I can definitely see in other locations (inner cities) where the Catholic high schools are superior to the public schools. But, remember – definitely not everywhere!</p>
<p>As some earlier poster have often said, there usually isn’t a law that divorced parents have to pay for college; but one or both parents will often bargain for who pays college costs in the divorce settlement. If both divorcing parents decide to leave college out of the agreement, neither one has to pay (just as two married parents have no obligation to pay for college). Sometimes the kid might not even have standing to sue under the divorce agreement since the parent, not the child, bargained for the tuition and the kid is just a third party beneficiary.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>As noted in several earlier posts about 15 states DO have laws that state divorced/single parents have to pay for college (including New Jersey, which is why it is relevant for this case). In such states even if it is left out of a divorce agreement custodial parents or often the child can later bring suit against them.</p>
<p>As I detailed in an earlier post - here in Indiana I was never married to my son’s father, did not make any type of agreement with him regarding support for college, and was still able to get a court order requiring him to pay costs after my son turned 18.</p>
<p>just as an fyi, CTTC is right, Morris Catholic, while it is a decent school, is not particularly distinguished compared to the public schools in most towns, it is a bit different than the inner city where parochial schools are often havens from out of control, problem ridden public schools. Ironically, more than a few parents who send their kids to Catholic schools in this neck of the woods do it hoping that it will keep them away from the drinking/party kind of thing in public high school, but as CTTC said, often these schools get kids who have had problems in public schools and either were asked to leave them, or their parents, in desperation, were hoping a religious school would set them straight…in some ways kind of like the plot of the “Great Escape”, where they put all the guys who had shown a talent for escaping in one camp together, these schools often get a lot of the students the parents are trying to avoid…</p>
<p>The reason for the NJ law on divorced parents paying for college is in the case where one parent (usually the mother) wants to pay for the kid’s college education, and the other spouse doesn’t. A lot of the times in divorce proceedings, a non custodial spouse will resent having to pay for college, or will use not paying college tuition as a spit tactic against the other spouse (believe me, it was pretty common), so the law basically is trying to prevent, in these situatiions, from a spouse walking away from an obligation they might have had had they stayed married. If neither parent planned on paying for the kids college, then the law would not require paying for it, it is only if one parent said they were planning on helping pay. </p>
<p>After seeing a tape of the courtroom session, I suspect the judge is going to rule that the parents don’t have to pay for either her college or her living expenses, that if the daughter wants to live apart, that she will have to basically emancipate herself. Unless the lawyer can prove that the parents were abusive, unless they could come up with hard evidence of abuse (and as my wife reminded me, Jersey CPS, especially in the burbs, tends to error in favor of those making the accusations, you are basically guilty until proven innocent if accused, it sounds like the parents didn’t do anything actionable). It is sad it comes down to this, and I suspect the judge is going to have a lot of strong words for the girl, the people paying for the suit, and probably some for the parents as well, that it never should have gotten to this point. </p>
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<p>YMMV. In some suburban/rural areas, Catholic schools are superior academically. </p>
<p>And in NYC-Tri-state, there were a few academically mediocre Catholic Schools/universities* even Catholic families made it a point to tell their kids/neighbors to avoid. </p>
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<li>Made reference to this in one previous thread when a non-local prospective applicant with no idea of a particular Catholic university I am familiar with as a NYer and someone who lives within a reasonable driving distance. Ended up informing him that with the exception of certain niche fields like Pharmacy, even most Catholic families I know of would rather send their kids to local public colleges(CUNYs) as they didn’t feel that university was worth the private school tuition barring a full-scholarship.<br></li>
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<p>Of the many private high schools in my area I know that none of them would have allowed this student to continue her enrollment after such a series of serious transgressions. </p>
<p>Personally, I would be very upset if I were a tuition-paying parent at Morris Catholic High School. This is terrible publicity for the school. </p>
<p>I also think the parents were smart to pull the plug on the second-semester tuition given that she looks like she’s headed for expulsion. The concept of good money after bad applies to parenting as well as business., </p>
<p>^^^ Good point the Catholic HS my DD attended expelled several seniors in Oct for drug related issues and I am sure there was no tuition reimbursement. If she had been expelled in Jan and they had paid too bad for them.</p>
<p>There are a number of catholic schools in Morris Cty - but this is not one of the ones where entrance is competitive. </p>
<p>That friend’s father, the attorney, is the most troubling and suspect person in this scenario. I read a lot about this case, including the nasty emails and phone calls from the daughter to her parents. In one she indicates that she would like to defecate on her mother’s face. She has been suspended due to alcohol incidents, stolen from her parents, stayed out all night, and would not respect her parents’ wishes regarding some boy that was a problem. All she had to do was wait a few months and she would be off to college, but no, she leaves, and sues her parents, with the “help” of the attorney father of the friend. What are the parents supposed to do? Crumble to her demands under penalty of lawsuit? </p>
<p>The whole thing is a nightmare. </p>
<p>It is true that the Catholic school requires payment for the year, contractually, so I’m not sure if there are any ways to terminate that. They apparently owe that money. But heck, no, they do not owe this spoiled brat any more than high school. </p>
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<p>no that is not true.
they required payment on a semester by semester basis.
they paid for the fall and withdrew the adult from the school for the spring in time to meet the deadline so they didn’t have to pay anymore.</p>
<p>Is this whole situation enough for colleges to rescind offers?</p>
<p>That Dad has so many control issues. I am glad I don’t have a control freak for a Dad. Ordering an 18-year-old girl to give up her boyfriend or move out of the house. Come on! She isn’t a naive 14-year-old. Rachel Canning’s parents are going to go to their graves never forgiven by their daughter. I hope it make them happy knowing that colleges won’t give their daughter financial aid because they won’t sign the papers. It is just so mean-spirited no matter how spoiled his daughter is. </p>
<p>In some states where there child support continues through college and requires some college contributions as a given, this can often be addressed by the divorce contract. It’s just the failsafe clause and in my opinion, a good one, as it forces the parents to address the issue. It’s amazing to me, and appalling how college is not addressed in so many divorce/child support settlement with some outstanding divorce attorneys involved. Not a word mentioned in many cases, as the attorneys fight for the best deals NOW, forget later. But when the college situations is a real future obligation and so spellled out by state laws, it’s something that has a better chance of being addressed. But its also yet another complication to be addressed and doesn’t always work out either. But the terms are made between the two parents with state law being the default if no agreement is contractually made.</p>
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<p>Agreed. One issue is standards for “honors” designation for students/courses could vary greatly by school and is not necessarily governed by GPA. </p>
<p>Also, some public/private HSs may offer academics which are so rigorous even at the very lowest academic level that everyone enrolled is regarded as an “honor student” by virtue of gaining admission there and persevering to graduation. </p>
<p>One thing I do find telling, however, is how Canning is eager to report her GPA, but not any SAT/ACT scores which could put that GPA into better context. Is Morris Catholic HS known for academic rigor or another school with grade inflation issues?</p>
<p>Also, considering her attitude and eagerness to party, a gap year or few may be the best thing for her to get her alcohol-fueled partying out of her system. </p>
<p>Better that than continuing this lifestyle in undergrad as an aspiring Biomedical Engineering major and ending up flunking most/all of her classes. Unless one’s an absolute STEM genius like the Salutatorian of my HS graduating class who ended up finding he had much more free time at MIT even as an EE major who finished at the top of his BSEE/MSEE classes in 4 years, most engineering/CS folks don’t have the time to party to the extent she has in HS. </p>
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<p>That is not true.</p>
<p>It is NOT a requirement in any state, it is however an OPTION that some states can use as part of a divorce settlement.</p>
<p>Besides, that is only relevant to child support payments as part of a divorce settlement.</p>
<p>This, as pointed out numerous times by people, is not a divorce issue so it is completely irrelevant.</p>
<p>Isn’t a divorce settlement an agmt btwn the husband and wife, not an agmt btwn parent & adult offspring?</p>
<p>In NJ, most public schools are better than catholic schools. </p>
<p>^^^^ Yes. That is why it is so odd that people keep bringing this up in this thread.</p>
<p>It is as relevant to this case as a fender bender between a left-handed trucker and a blonde driver of a Prius.</p>
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<p>Perhaps the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. </p>
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<p><a href=“Teen who sued parents for college funds denied”>http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/03/04/student-sues-parents-college-tuition/6024457/</a></p>
<p>Additionally, </p>
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<p>Hey, I’m not defending what Rachel said in her voicemail. But if you talk to your kids that way…</p>
<p>I still think the girl’s a brat but yes, perhaps the apple does not fall far…too bad the judge can’t order them all into family counseling.</p>