Texas Court & Family Education Guide
Information for anyone navigating a court order, custody case, or probation requirement in Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas 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 Texas court ordered it?
Texas courts may order a Battering Intervention and Prevention Program (BIPP) — a distinct, state-monitored program under Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42.141 — as a condition of a criminal sentence or a civil protective order under Family Code § 85.022. If your order names a BIPP specifically, that's a different category from a general educational anger-management course.
Texas law is also protective in one specific way: under Family Code § 153.010, a court can't order a family-violence victim into joint counseling with the person who abused them. If your order is tied to a custody matter under Family Code § 153.004 or a general probation condition under Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42A.301 instead, a general educational course may be what's being asked for — but confirm with your court either way.
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, Texas 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 Texas 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, Texas-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 — Texas civil and family-law sections first, then criminal law.
Civil & family law
Custody Decisions and Family Violence HistoryTexas Family Code § 153.004
Requires a court to consider any history of family violence or abuse when deciding conservatorship, possession, and access to a child. A finding of a history of family violence limits a parent's rights and can bar unsupervised or joint custody arrangements.
Court-Ordered Counseling in Custody CasesTexas Family Code § 153.010
Lets a court order a party in a custody suit to participate in counseling with an appropriately credentialed mental health professional. The statute expressly prohibits ordering a family-violence victim and the perpetrator into joint counseling sessions together.
Protective Order ConditionsTexas Family Code § 85.022
When a court issues a protective order after finding family violence, it may order the person found to have committed the violence to attend a battering intervention and prevention program (BIPP) or, if none is reasonably available, counseling addressing violent behavior.
Enforcing the Counseling RequirementTexas Family Code § 85.024
A person ordered to attend a program or counseling under § 85.022 must file an affidavit of compliance with the court, generally within 60 days, or risk being held in contempt.
Criminal law
AssaultTexas Penal Code § 22.01
Covers intentionally or knowingly causing bodily injury, threatening imminent bodily injury, or causing offensive physical contact. Typically a Class A or Class C misdemeanor, enhanced to a third-degree felony for repeat family-violence offenses and a second-degree felony for repeat family violence involving strangulation.
Aggravated AssaultTexas Penal Code § 22.02
Applies when a person commits assault and also causes serious bodily injury or uses/exhibits a deadly weapon. Generally a second-degree felony, elevated to a first-degree felony in specific circumstances, such as serious injury to a family member with a deadly weapon.
Battering Intervention and Prevention ProgramsTexas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42.141
Establishes Texas's statewide framework for BIPPs — nonprofit-run education and intervention programs for people who have committed family violence, overseen by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, with compliance reported back to the sentencing court.
Conditions of Community Supervision (Probation)Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Art. 42A.301
Lists conditions a judge may impose on probation, including substance-abuse counseling and reimbursing a victim's counseling costs, plus broad discretion to impose “any reasonable condition” for rehabilitation — the hook courts commonly use to order anger-management-type counseling.