Court Required Parenting Education Classes

518.157 PARENT EDUCATION PROGRAM IN PROCEEDINGS INVOLVING CHILDREN.

In all divorce cases with children or custody cases, both parents are required to take a parenting education course.

Deadline: Unless otherwise ordered, participation in a parent education course must begin within 30 days of the first filing in the case and prior to an Initial Case Management Conference, if one is scheduled.

Important: Certain counties (Olmsted, others in 3rd district) are very particular about this deadline and will dismiss cases if the parenting education courses are not done in a timely manner. It’s important that our clients complete this as soon as possible and provide us with the certificate.

Certificate: Once we receive the certificate from the client, we need to file with the Court and eserve on the other party. “Certificate of Attendance – Class”

Class Options: Each District has a list of different approved parent education classes.

Olmsted: 2023-02-14_order_child-custody-classes_olmsted.pdf

5th district list: Minnesota Judicial Branch – Fifth Judicial District (mncourts.gov)

For all other districts, or for the full list: Parent Education

The U of M Parents Forever course is approved in all districts and is a popular course: Divorce and other family transitions | UMN Extension. Just ensure our client takes the 8 hours class (which is $89), not the 4-hour class.

Sample message to send to client:

 Parent Education Class Requirement 

Since children are involved, the Court requires that both parties complete a parent education course. The order specifies the following: 

• Within ## days from today, you must schedule your class. 

• Within ## days from today, you must complete the class and send us your certificate of completion, which we will file with the court. 

Failure to attend a required class may result in court sanctions. 

Here are links to approved courses: 

Minnesota Judicial Branch – Third Judicial District (mncourts.gov) 

Minnesota Judicial Branch – Fifth Judicial District (mncourts.gov) 

The U of M Parents Forever course is approved in all districts and is a popular course: Divorce and other family transitions | UMN Extension. Just ensure you take the 8 hours class (which is $89), not the 4-hour class.