Child support payments, whether ordered in a divorce decree or through a SAPCR for unmarried parents, are intended to cover a child’s needs until she turns 18 or graduates from high school. Even when child support payments are paid on time and parents generally agree about how to raise a child, there are often still questions about what, exactly, child support payments are intended to cover.
One grey area that parents frequently wonder about is academic tutoring. As research continues to come out about how lockdowns intended to mitigate the spread of Covid-19 have negatively impacted math and reading scores, parents are scrambling to find ways to help their children catch up. The cost of tutoring can leave parents reeling: Depending on the quality and experience of the tutor, some parents are asked to pay up to $100 an hour. This can result in thousands of extra dollars in costs over the school year and begs the question: Should child support cover tutoring? And, if so, can a child support order be modified to include a tutor’s costs?
What Does Child Support Cover in Texas?
Child support payments are meant to cover a child’s basic needs. This includes her medical and dental care, her housing, clothing, and food, and her educational needs. Activities that are considered extracurricular - such as sports, club activities, and summer camps - are generally not included in child support payments. They are seen as unnecessary extras, and, while parents can agree together to enroll a child in extracurricular activities, a parent cannot usually be required to pay for them with child support payments.
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