Nebraska Court & Family Education Guide
Information for anyone navigating a court order, custody case, or probation requirement in Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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 Nebraska court ordered it?
Nebraska's domestic assault statute, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 28-323, grades third-degree domestic assault as a misdemeanor that becomes a felony with prior convictions, and treats second- and first-degree domestic assault as felonies. The sources reviewed identified no statewide statute requiring a specific batterer-intervention or anger-management class after conviction, so any such requirement is set by the sentencing judge or as a probation condition in the individual case.
On the civil side, Nebraska's Parenting Act has sections on the child's best interests (§ 43-2923), basic parenting education (§ 43-2928), limits on parenting plans to protect a child or parent from harm (§ 43-2932), and the effect of protection and no-contact orders (§ 43-2934). Orders vary, 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, Nebraska 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 Nebraska 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, Nebraska-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 — Nebraska civil and family-law sections first, then criminal law.
Civil & family law
Best interests of the child and abuseNeb. Rev. Stat. § 43-2923
If domestic intimate partner abuse is shown by a preponderance of the evidence, the parenting and visitation arrangement must provide for the safety of the victim parent. Courts must consider credible evidence of abuse of a family or household member and of child abuse, neglect, or domestic intimate partner abuse.
Parenting Act: education, safety limits, and protection ordersNeb. Rev. Stat. §§ 43-2928, 43-2932, 43-2934
These sections cover attendance at a basic parenting education course, limits on parenting plans to protect a child or parent from harm, and the effect of restraining, protection, or criminal no-contact orders on parenting decisions.
Criminal law
Third-degree domestic assaultNeb. Rev. Stat. § 28-323(1)
Intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causing bodily injury to an intimate partner, or threatening one with imminent bodily injury. It is a misdemeanor, and it is raised to a felony when the person has prior domestic assault convictions. Intimate partners include spouses, former spouses, people who share a child, and current or former dating partners.
Second- and first-degree domestic assaultNeb. Rev. Stat. § 28-323(2), (3)
Second degree involves causing bodily injury with a dangerous instrument, and first degree involves intentionally causing serious bodily injury to an intimate partner. Both are felonies, and prior convictions raise the grade further.
StalkingNeb. Rev. Stat. §§ 28-311.02, 28-311.03
Stalking is willfully harassing another person, or that person's family or household member, with intent to injure, terrify, threaten, or intimidate. Harassing means a deliberate, repeated pattern aimed at a specific person that seriously frightens, threatens, or intimidates and serves no legitimate purpose.