A lawyer who sued a suburban school district on behalf of a 13-year-old student, against the wishes of the boy’s custodial parent, has observers questioning whether a minor has the capacity to hire legal counsel.

“It’s an important issue, and I don’t think it’s an easy one,” said attorney Leonard Rieser, co-director of the Education Law Center in Philadelphia. “I don’t think it’s an issue that the courts here in Pennsylvania have a great deal of experience with.”