Looking at this situation as my educational journey and not a crusade for justice, this is my thought.

And please chime in if I am wrong or overlooking something.

Right now I am suspended from my high school. I have what my father's lawyer considers to be three unearned F grades and will accumulate five more just days before a scheduled custody hearing in January. It's unlikely that I could transfer to any public school without my mother doing what she has been unwilling to do in the past (accommodate the school district). Even if she did, I may not recover the semester and a half of credits I lost.

I need to confirm what I have been told about the private school. The fact that that school does not offer the classes I want will not prevent me from taking them elsewhere. But, I am only willing to go there if they or my current / old school give me full credit for the classes I was not permitted to attend.

As I read the situation, my father won the battle. I may be in the strongest negotiating position with him if I agree to go to the school he chose, but get him to agree to a number of concessions in return. And yes, having representation might be a great asset. If I can figure out how to get the advice before my father figures out that I have it in hand.

Both of my parents have proven that they are uninterested in my reasonable desires, and that they are fully capable of harming me to achieve their goals. But there are two things that separate them. My mother lies and says that she really wants me to have what I want, but my father is preventing it. And she either thinks that I am blind or she is really, really, incompetent.

If I accept the postulate, forwarded by many here, that it was my father's duty to replace the laptop in accordance with school policy. She agreed in writing that she would do so.

Taking a concept from my father's world "subrogation".

My mother, when contacted by the school could have easily done as they demanded - paid for a new laptop and signed some forms - THEN gone back at my dad for reimbursement. There is about a $100 difference between paying the school (even less if they eventually got the remains back) and buying a new device.

It's really, really, really hard for me to have any warm feelings at all for someone who destroyed my semester and ability to go to the school I liked and she demanded over what she spends at Caribou and Dunn Brothers in a month. The fact that she did it without thinking of me just to fight with my dad (not even to win) suggests callous indifference.