Build an FL-311 parenting schedule by stating exactly when each parent’s time starts and ends, where exchanges occur, who transports the child, and how the regular schedule changes for holidays, vacations, and special days. A reader should be able to follow the written schedule on a calendar without guessing.
Form FL-311 is an attachment used to propose custody and parenting-time terms; completing it does not make the proposal a court order. The complete FormExplainer FL-311 Guide explains every section, and the FL-300 Guide explains how the attachment fits into a Request for Order.
Jump to: Regular schedule · Times and exchanges · Alternating weekends · Holidays · Vacations · Conflicts · Checklist
Start with the regular weekly schedule
Write the ordinary school-week and weekend pattern first. Identify each day, the parent whose time it is, and the start and end points. A label such as “shared weekends” is not a schedule. “Every other Friday after school until Monday school drop-off” gives the reader usable boundaries.
- Weekdays: say where the child stays each school night and whether there is a midweek visit or overnight.
- Weekends: state whether they alternate, repeat on numbered weekends, or follow another pattern.
- School breaks: explain whether an ordinary weekday or weekend continues when school is closed.
- Different children: identify any schedule that differs by child instead of implying one pattern covers everyone.
Use a calendar to test the proposal for several weeks. Mark school holidays and months containing a fifth weekend. This often exposes an unclear phrase before it becomes part of a request.
State exact start times, end times, and exchanges
For each transition, identify when it happens and what event controls it. “After school” can mean release directly to the receiving parent. If school is not in session, state the substitute time and place. For a preschool child or a child with a changing dismissal time, a clock time may be clearer.
- The exchange location: school, a parent’s residence, another specific public place, or a supervised provider.
- Who picks up and who drops off.
- The exact clock time or school-based event.
- The alternative when school, child care, or the normal location is closed.
- Any permitted third person who may transport the child, if that detail is part of the proposal.
School-based exchanges can reduce direct transitions: one parent takes the child to school and the other parent picks the child up. The wording should still cover non-school days so the schedule does not contain a gap.
How should alternating or numbered weekends be described?
“Every other weekend” needs a starting reference. Identify the first weekend or tie the cycle to an objective date. If the schedule uses first, third, and fifth weekends, define whether a weekend is numbered by the Friday, Saturday, or another day. Months with five Fridays can produce a different result from a simple alternating-week cycle.
Do not combine “alternating weekends” and “first and third weekends” as though they always mean the same thing. Test the wording across month boundaries and the end of the year.
Build the holiday and special-day schedule
List only the holidays and special days that the proposal addresses, then provide start and end times for each. Form FL-341(C) is the Judicial Council holiday-schedule attachment and can be used where appropriate.
- Identify whether the holiday alternates in odd and even years or is always assigned to one parent.
- Define the holiday period—for example, from a stated time on the day before through a stated time on the holiday.
- Address school breaks separately when they last longer than the named holiday.
- Include birthdays, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, or other special days only when they are part of the proposed order.
- State the exchange place and transportation responsibility if they differ from the regular schedule.
A holiday label alone can be ambiguous. “Thanksgiving with Parent A in even years” does not say whether it begins Wednesday after school, Thursday morning, or another time. The start and end boundaries answer that question.
Add vacations and longer school breaks
For summer or other vacations, specify how much time may be selected, whether it must be consecutive, the notice deadline, how notice is given, and what happens if both parents request overlapping dates. If travel conditions are proposed, state them in the appropriate section or attachment without assuming a general vacation sentence answers every travel issue.
Long breaks may be divided by dates, equal portions, alternating years, or another stated method. Define the transition time and which calendar or school-district dates control. A school’s published calendar can help provide an objective reference.
Say which schedule controls when terms overlap
A complete proposal states the priority of schedules. Common layers include the regular weekly schedule, holidays and special days, school breaks, and selected vacations. The proposal should say which layer overrides another so a holiday that falls on an ordinary weekend does not create two competing answers.
Also explain when the regular schedule resumes. If a holiday period ends Sunday evening, does the ordinary Monday schedule continue? If the holiday ends at school drop-off, what happens when school is closed? Write the transition, not just the exception.
When does supervision need extra detail?
If supervised parenting time is requested, identify the proposed supervisor or professional provider, location, frequency, duration, transportation, and payment arrangement where the form asks. Do not use “supervised as needed” as a substitute for workable terms. Supervision involves safety and individualized judgment; the court decides whether it is appropriate.
Calendar test and final checklist
- Place the regular schedule on a calendar for at least six weeks.
- Test a fifth weekend, a school closure, and a month-to-month transition.
- Overlay every listed holiday and school break.
- Add vacation selections and apply the stated priority rule.
- Confirm every period has a start, an end, an exchange location, and transportation terms.
- Check that the child names and requested terms match FL-300 and any other custody attachments.
- Distinguish the proposed schedule from any current order or informal arrangement.
Next, use the FormExplainer FL-311 Guide to match the schedule to the custody, parenting-time, exchange, supervision, and related-attachment fields on the current form. If you are making the request through FL-300, connect the precise schedule to the supporting facts without treating the proposal itself as an order.
FormExplainer provides general information, not a recommendation for what arrangement is best for a particular child or family. Disputes involving safety, domestic violence, relocation, interstate jurisdiction, or supervised contact may require help from a family-law professional or the court’s self-help center.
Sources checked October 7, 2026: current Judicial Council Forms FL-311, FL-311-INFO, and FL-341(C); California Courts custody and parenting-time guidance; and California Courts custody-order enforcement guidance.