Do Divorcing Parents Have to Take a Parenting Class in Connecticut?

The Connecticut Judicial Branch runs a parenting education program for parents in family cases. The statute describes it as a course "to educate persons, including unmarried parents, on the impact on children of the restructuring of families."

At a minimum, the law requires the course to cover the developmental stages of children, how children adjust to their parents' separation, dispute resolution and conflict management, guidelines for parenting time (the statute still uses the older word "visitation"), reducing stress in children, and cooperative parenting.

It is a course about your children, not a test of you. Nobody grades your parenting, and the class does not decide custody. Its purpose is to help two parents who are reorganizing one family into two homes keep the children out of the middle.

The program applies to family relations cases in the Superior Court: divorce, legal separation, annulment, and custody and visitation cases, including cases between parents who were never married. Under § 46b-69b(b), the court orders any party to such a case to take part whenever a minor child is involved. The statute leaves out two kinds of cases: applications for relief from abuse under C.G.S. § 46b-15, and juvenile matters.

Three practical points follow. Both parents are ordered, not just one, because the order goes to "any party" and each parent completes the program on their own. Once is enough: no party has to take the program more than once, so if you completed it in an earlier Connecticut case, tell your lawyer so it can be raised with the court. And unmarried parents are included: a custody case between parents who never married is covered the same way as a divorce with children.

The order is the default, not an absolute. Section 46b-69b(b) lists three situations in which the court does not require it. First, both parents agree not to take it and the court approves; an agreement alone is not enough, because a judge has to sign off. Second, the court decides, on a motion, that participation is not necessary. Third, the parents choose and complete a comparable parenting education program instead.

Whether any of these fits your situation depends on your facts. It is a good question to raise early with your lawyer rather than after the court has entered the order.

The statute sets the limits. The program cannot exceed a total of ten hours. Each person pays the fee directly to the program provider, and the statute caps the total cost at $200 per person, a figure indexed each year to inflation, so the fee you are quoted today can be somewhat higher. Ask the provider for the current amount.

No one can be excluded from the program because they cannot afford the fee. Providers under contract with the Judicial Branch must allow people who are unable to pay to participate. If the fee is a hardship, say so when you register.

The Judicial Branch does not teach the course itself. It contracts with service providers. Under the statute, a party has satisfactorily completed the program once the provider certifies it, and the Judicial Branch reports the results to the court.

In practice, that means two things. Use an approved provider: a general co-parenting course you find on your own may not count unless it is truly comparable, so check before you enroll, and your lawyer, the clerk's office or the court's family materials can point you to the approved list. And keep your certificate: completion is reported to the court, but if a question comes up at a hearing, you want proof in hand.

The statute requires every contracted provider to provide safety and security for participants, including victims of family violence. If you are concerned about attending at the same time or place as the other parent, tell the provider when you register and tell your lawyer. That concern is exactly what this part of the law is for.

The parenting education program runs alongside everything else in a Connecticut family case. In a divorce, the court cannot enter a final judgment until at least 90 days after the return date (C.G.S. § 46b-67), and in a case with children much of that time goes to working out a parenting plan. Our guide to understanding custody in Connecticut explains what a parenting plan covers, and our guide to building a parenting schedule for school-age children walks through the common rotations and how to write holiday and summer terms that prevent disputes.

Because the class is court ordered, treat it like any other deadline in your case: sign up early, finish it, and keep the certificate. It is one of the few parts of a family case that is entirely in your control.