Arkansas Court & Family Education Guide
Information for anyone navigating a court order, custody case, or probation requirement in Arkansas that involves anger management, parenting, co-parenting, or substance-abuse education.
What does Clearway offer?
People are sometimes ordered or referred to an educational program as part of a family-law, custody, probation, or other Arkansas court-related matter. The type of program required can depend on the circumstances of the case and the exact wording of the court order.
Clearway Institute offers four self-paced online courses: anger management, parenting, co-parenting, and substance-abuse education. Not every course is appropriate for every court order, and completing an online course does not automatically mean a particular Arkansas court, probation department, or agency will accept it — always read your order carefully and confirm the required program with the court, probation officer, attorney, or other referring agency when you're not sure.
Which type of class do you need?
Start with whichever matches your order or situation — each course page has the full curriculum before you enroll.
What if a Arkansas court ordered it?
The Arkansas statute reviewed for this page, Ark. Code § 5-26-305 (domestic battering in the third degree), defines and classifies the offense but contains no counseling or program requirement, and the sources reviewed identified no statewide statute requiring a specific anger-management or batterer-intervention class. Any such requirement is typically set case by case by the judge or as a probation condition.
On the civil side, orders of protection are issued under the Domestic Abuse Act in Title 9, Chapter 15, and a court can exclude the abusing party from a residence, set temporary custody or visitation, and bar contact. In custody cases, § 9-13-101 requires the court to consider domestic violence. Orders differ, so confirm exactly what your own order or judgment requires before enrolling in any course.
What's the difference between classes?
Parenting vs. co-parenting. Parenting covers general child-development, discipline, and communication skills, and comes up in a wide range of family cases. Co-parenting is built specifically for separated or divorcing parents — coordinating two households, handling custody transitions, and keeping kids out of the middle — and is the more common requirement in a custody or divorce order.
Anger management vs. a certified intervention program. Many states, Arkansas included, treat general educational anger-management coursework as legally distinct from a state-certified batterer intervention, family-violence intervention, or abuser-treatment program ordered specifically in a domestic-violence case — see “What if a Arkansas court ordered it?” above for how that distinction works here. If your order names a specific certified program by name, an educational anger-management course usually isn't an automatic substitute — check with your court.
Where can I verify requirements?
The most reliable answer always comes from whoever issued your order — the court clerk, your probation or parole officer, your attorney, or the agency that referred you. Below are free, Arkansas-specific places to start if you need legal help, counseling, or crisis support along the way.
Legal reference material
For anyone who wants to read the underlying statutes for themselves, here is the reference material this guide is based on — Arkansas civil and family-law sections first, then criminal law.
Civil & family law
Custody and domestic violenceArk. Code § 9-13-101
Custody is decided on the child's welfare and best interest, and joint custody is favored in divorce and paternity cases through a rebuttable presumption. That presumption does not apply where a domestic abuse presumption is established. If domestic violence is proven, the court must consider its effect on the child, and a pattern of abuse creates a rebuttable presumption that custody with that parent is not in the child's best interest.
Orders of protectionArk. Code § 9-15-205
Under the Domestic Abuse Act, after a hearing and a finding of domestic abuse, a court can exclude the abusing party from a shared dwelling, workplace, or school, award temporary custody or set visitation, order temporary support, and bar contact with the petitioner.
Criminal law
Domestic battering in the third degreeArk. Code § 5-26-305
Purposely or recklessly causing physical injury to a family or household member, or negligently doing so with a deadly weapon, is a Class A misdemeanor. It becomes a Class D felony if the victim is a woman the person knew or should have known was pregnant, or if the person committed listed domestic battering offenses within the prior five years.
StalkingArk. Code § 5-71-229
Stalking is graded by degree. First degree, a Class B felony, covers a course of conduct that causes fear and emotional distress and also violates a protective order, follows a listed prior conviction, or involves a weapon. Second degree is a Class C felony, and third degree, a knowing course of conduct causing fear and distress, is a Class A misdemeanor.
Violation of an order of protectionArk. Code § 5-53-134
Knowingly violating a condition of a temporary or full order of protection after actual notice is a Class A misdemeanor. It is a Class D felony if it happens within five years of a prior conviction for the same offense and the order was issued after a hearing the person had notice of.