For most families, private school is about community. It’s woven into your life in the way a divorce filing cannot easily untangle—your children’s routines, their friendships, their teachers. When that continuity is at risk, one of the first questions parents ask is: “Does child support pay private school tuition?”
It’s a reasonable concern, and the answer largely depends on whether private school tuition has already been established. Washington child support guidelines are built around basic needs, which means private school tuition doesn’t automatically fall into the calculation. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be addressed.
Our Truce® Law Washington state child support lawyers can help.
Table of Contents
- Understanding Special Child Rearing Expenses
- Making the Case for Private School Child Support
- What If I Cannot Afford My Share of Private School Tuition?
- Making the Case for Future Private School Child Support
- Paying Private School Tuition After Your Divorce
- Does Child Support Cover College Expenses?
- Next Steps
Understanding Special Child Rearing Expenses
Special child rearing expenses are defined by Washington state law under RCW 26.19.080.
“Special child rearing expenses, such as tuition… are not included in the economic table. These expenses shall be shared by the parents in the same proportion as the basic child support obligation.”
Child support is based on the combined monthly net income of both parents. RCW 26.19.020 includes economic tables outlining child support obligations for combined monthly incomes up to $50,000 a month (new tables effective January 1, 2026). These economic tables don’t include special child rearing expenses like tuition for private school.
It’s important to note that for high-net worth families, where a significant source of income might be stock options, RSUs, or investment, traditional accounting methods may fail to capture the whole picture. Current child support guidelines are tailored to meet the needs of W-2 families, not high-net worth families and ultra-high-net-worth families who might utilize other means, like securities-based lending to fund their lifestyle and support their children.
For high-net-worth families, a different kind of conversation may be required. The courts and attorneys may need to look beyond stated earnings. They may need to look closely at the profitability of owned businesses, the timing of when RSUs vest; dividends, capital gains, and investment income, and other benefits.
In most cases, to calculate the proportional share that each parent would be expected to contribute to a “special child rearing expense” like private school tuition, you’d need to look at the proportion of each parent’s share of the monthly net income used to determine child support.
“Special child rearing expenses” that qualify to be included in this proportional calculation include: day care costs, childcare expenses, private school tuition, tutoring, or other special schooling expenses, long-distance transportation costs, and extraordinary medical expenses—anything that goes beyond standard costs reflected in the table.
Other factors can influence whether cost-sharing of private school tuition will be ordered by the court. Private school tuition is typically seen as a discretionary cost. If one parent disputes the necessity of private school, the court might choose not to order that the other parent pay this “special child rearing expense.” The courts make a distinction between daycare and preschool costs which are required for both parents to maintain employment and private school expenses which can be avoided if parents send their children to public school.
Yet, the courts will consider the family’s lifestyle, and whether the children are already enrolled in private school, when deciding whether to include special child rearing expenses in the child support settlement.
Given these factors, several issues can arise when divorcing or separating parents need to decide how private school tuition will be paid:
- The parent paying a larger proportion of the tuition bill could argue that private school isn’t necessary.
- The lower-earning or stay-at-home parent might be unable to afford even a smaller proportion of private school tuition costs.
- The child has been enrolled in public school, but the parents had previously planned to enroll the child in private school for middle or high school. The parents are getting divorced and the lower earning parent is concerned about being able to afford private school tuition.
And yet, it’s important to flag that these are “worst case scenario” situations—the rare case where the higher earning parent is non-cooperative about paying private school tuition. What our child support attorneys see regularly at Truce is that parents who have the financial capacity often do agree to continue private school. The dispute centers on apportioning payments—not whether private education should continue.
Education is one of the few areas where parents tend to agree even when other property questions remain unresolved. In some cases, disputed assets have been redirected into a 529 plan—a practical resolution that shifts the conversation from conflict to planning.
Making the Case for Private School Child Support
If one parent questions whether private school is necessary, the goal is to find an arrangement both parents can support—with the child’s continuity and stability as the guiding principle
If your child has already been enrolled in private school, you’ll generally have a case for continuity. The courts tend to avoid arrangements that disrupt children’s lives. Withdrawing a child from a school they have been attending for some time could be seen by the courts as disruptive to their education, to their social ties, to their extracurricular activities, and to their lifestyle, especially if the higher earning parent has the financial capacity to afford their proportion of the private school tuition.
Private school education is often tailored to meet a child’s special needs. If the child’s current private school offers educational support, an exceptional academic program, or tailored support for a child’s learning disability, then the court will often be willing to accommodate an educational plan that meets a child’s special needs or medical needs.
The courts will generally look at several factors when determining whether private school should be included as a special educational expense or whether it should be considered discretionary:
- Was the child already enrolled in private school during the marriage? If your child has been enrolled in private school for several years, the courts might be reluctant to disrupt your child’s current educational environment.
- Does your child have special medical or educational needs that the private school is uniquely equipped to meet?
- Does the other parent have the financial capacity to pay their proportion of the tuition?
In many cases, courts have been willing to continue private school when the child was already enrolled, had demonstrated continuity in that environment, or had special needs the school was meeting.
What if I Can’t Afford My Share of Private School Tuition?
If paying a proportion of private school tuition would create financial hardship for you, the court could potentially order that the other parent pay full tuition. Under RCW 26.19.065, “When a parent’s monthly net income falls below one hundred twenty-five percent of the federal poverty guideline for a one-person family, a support order of not less than fifty dollars per child per month shall be entered.” Furthermore, neither parent’s support obligation should ever exceed 45% of net income.
The court will evaluate the circumstances of each parent when determining whether to impose an order to pay special child rearing expenses. If you can show that such an order would leave you with insufficient funds to support your children, or if it would cause hardship to your household, then you might be able to argue that your higher earning spouse should pay the full tuition bill.
If your co-parent has a high income and is more capable of absorbing the costs of private school tuition, then you might have a case for asking the court for the other parent to pay the full costs of tuition. In some cases, the court might order the lower-earning parent to pay a small amount in accordance with minimum child support guidelines.
Here are some factors the courts will consider:
- Can you afford your basic needs (food, housing, transportation) and pay your share of your child’s private school tuition?
- Is your income fixed, or likely to grow?
- Are you under-employed? Do you have the skills or training to obtain a higher paying job?
- Are there other childcare expenses like medical costs or daycare that limit your ability to pay or might limit the other parent’s ability to pay?
- Is the higher income parent able to pay the private school tuition costs?
The parent with the lower income can request that the court deviate from the standard formula for calculating special child rearing expenses.
Making the Case for Future Private School Child Support
You generally have more to work with when the child has already been enrolled in private school.
But what happens if your child is too young to start school when you file for divorce, but you intended to enroll your child in private school? And what happens if your child has been enrolled in public school, but you and your co-parent had previously planned to enroll your child in private school for high school or middle school?
When cases like this go before a judge, the judge has immense discretion, and if you happen to live in a good school district, it can be hard to predict what a judge will decide.
In this case, the parent seeking child support for private school tuition would need to show that the child’s future enrollment in private school was a mutually established expectation during the marriage, and that this isn’t a unilateral decision being made by one parent.
The more evidence you can provide to support this, the better.
Evidence might include:
- A savings account specifically created to set aside money for private school costs
- Any written communication where you and your co-parent discussed private school or agreed to enroll your child in private school
- Payments to tutors, test preparation centers, or payment for private school admissions tests
- Correspondence with private school admissions or visits to private schools
- Submitted applications to private schools during the marriage
- An older sibling’s enrollment in private school and financial records as proof
- Family tradition of private school attendance
A parent can also make the case that future private school enrollment will be in the best interest of the child, especially if the proposed school provides academic support that cannot be provided by a public school, such as additional support for a disability, or medical need.
And if the other parent is now trying to argue that he or she cannot afford private school after the divorce, financial disclosures can help prove or disprove this claim.
In Washington state parenting plans, parents can note which schools they intend their children to attend. If both parents agree to send their children to private school in the parenting plan, then the dispute may simply center around who will pay the tuition and how tuition will be paid rather than whether both parents intended to send the kids to private school.
Paying Private School Tuition After Your Divorce
If private school tuition payments are included in your child support order, it’s important to think ahead.
Even when the court orders that one or both parents pay private school tuition, issues can arise later if incomes change, if the child receives a scholarship or financial aid, or when private school tuition increases.
Other issues can arise if one parent pays the private school tuition in full and then seeks reimbursement from the other parent in accordance with the child support order (where both parents were ordered to pay a proportional amount). Other disputes can arise if grandparents or stepparents pay the tuition. Is the other parent responsible for reimbursing the other parent their proportional share, in this case?
Being specific about reimbursement and deadlines for reimbursement when one parent pays the tuition in full can make reimbursement more easily enforceable, offer clarity about who pays and when, and reduce potential conflict due to misunderstanding. Gifts of tuition payment typically don’t change existing child support orders, so if a grandparent or stepparent pays the full tuition, the parent with the obligation to pay may still be able to seek reimbursement for the other parent’s share.
You might also want to include details about what happens when the child receives a scholarship or if private school tuition increases. Will each parent’s proportional share increase or decrease accordingly?
Finally, private school tuition estimates might not always account for other incidental expenses like books, activities, uniforms, field trips, graduation expenses, testing expenses, lunch expenses, and transportation costs. Parents may also have fundraising and community expectations, including minimum donations, galas, and volunteer hour buyouts. You might want to discuss these additional costs when estimating proportional tuition expenses.
Does Child Support Cover College Expenses?
Another question that comes up when parents are considering how they’ll pay for their children’s education is whether they can seek support to pay for their children’s college tuition and post-secondary expenses. In Washington state, child support typically ends at age 18, or when the child graduates from high school. Yet, under RCW 26.19.090, parents can contribute to a child’s college or vocational expenses beyond age 18. This is known as an order for post-secondary educational support.
This order is separate from child support. Child support is automatic and based on strict guidelines. Post-secondary educational support is additional.
When deciding whether to grant an order for post-secondary educational support, the courts will consider several factors including:
- The child’s age. A post-secondary educational support order can extend until a child turns 23.
- The child’s educational needs.
- The parents’ expectations for the child when they were married. Was there a college savings plan in place? Did the parents discuss college or vocational school? Did the parents visit specific schools? Was the child enrolled in college preparatory courses, taking college preparatory tests, or were college preparatory tutors hired?
- Child’s prospects. Has the child been accepted to college or university? Does the child have special talents or abilities that would be best nurtured at a college, university, conservatory, or vocational school?
- Child’s desires.
- Parent’s level of education and standard of living.
- Parent’s income and resources, and ability to pay.
- The child’s income and resources.
- The child’s enrollment status: full-time or part-time?
If the child has the legal standing to seek support from their parents, then that may weigh in favor of a post-secondary support order. For example, if the child seeks financial aid through FAFSA, but doesn’t qualify for financial aid due to “expected parental contributions” the court could order parents to pay these expected contributions.
A post-secondary educational support order can require one or both parents to pay tuition, room and board, books, supplies, transportation costs, and other expenses, including medical expenses.
When determining whether one or both parents should be required to pay for a child’s college or vocational expenses, the court will also consider whether the child’s choice of school is within the parent’s financial means to pay, and whether there are more affordable in-state, or community college options. Of course, the child’s abilities, scholarships, and needs will also be a factor.
The complexities involved in a post-secondary educational order are largely outside the scope of this article, but if you’re already considering private school tuition expenses, this is something you’ll also want to consider when working out your parenting plan and child support orders with the help of your divorce lawyers.
Next Steps
Reaching agreement on child support for private school costs is an important part of parenting plan and child support discussions. These talks don’t have to end up in court. And in most instances, negotiating a settlement outside of court is often in the best interests of the children. Most people don’t want a judge to decide for them where they should send their children to school.
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This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every situation is unique. For guidance specific to your circumstances, consult a licensed family law attorney in your area.