767.401.Educational programs and classes.

Subch. V: Child Custody, Placement, and Visitation · Last amended 2025 · Current through 2025 Wisconsin Act 247 · Last verified September 8, 2026

In one sentenceSection 767.401 lets the court order the parties to a parenting programme of not more than 4 hours, which it may require before final judgment, and to a longer parenting class, which it may not.

Full Text of Section 767.401

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(1) PROGRAMS: EFFECTS OF DISSOLUTION ON CHILDREN; PARENTING SKILLS. (a) During the pendency of an action affecting the family in which a minor child is involved and in which the court determines that it is appropriate and in the best interest of the child, the court, on its own motion, may order the parties to attend a program specified by the court concerning the effects on a child of a dissolution of the marriage. If the court orders the parties to attend a program under this paragraph and there is evidence that one or both of the parties have engaged in interspousal battery, as described in s. 940.60 or 940.61 (1) or s. 940.19, 2023 stats., or s. 940.20 (1m), 2023 stats., or domestic abuse, as defined in s. 813.12 (1) (am), the court may not require the parties to attend the program together or at the same time.

(b) During the pendency of an action to determine the paternity of a child, or an action affecting the family for which the underlying action was an action to determine the paternity of a child, if the court determines that it is appropriate and in the best interest of the child, the court, on its own motion, may order either or both of the parties to attend a program specified by the court providing training in parenting or coparenting skills, or both.

(c) A program under par. (a) or (b) shall be educational rather than therapeutic in nature and may not exceed a total of 4 hours in length. The parties shall be responsible for the cost, if any, of attendance at the program. The court may specifically assign responsibility for payment of any cost. No facts or information obtained in the course of the program, and no report resulting from the program, is admissible in any action or proceeding.

(d) Notwithstanding s. 767.35 (1), the court may require the parties to an action affecting the family in which a minor child is involved to attend a program under par. (a) or (b) as a condition to the granting of a final judgment or order in the action affecting the family.

(e) A party who fails to attend a program ordered under par. (a) or (b) or pay costs specifically ordered under par. (c) may be proceeded against under ch. 785 for contempt of court.

(2) CLASSES ON PARENTING. (a) During the pendency of a divorce or paternity action, the court may order the parties to attend a class that is approved by the court and that addresses such issues as child development, family dynamics, how parental separation affects a child’s development, and what parents can do to make raising a child in a separated situation less stressful for the child.

(b) The court may not require the parties to attend a class under this subsection as a condition to the granting of the final judgment or order in the divorce or paternity action, however, the court may refuse to hear a custody or physical placement motion of a party who refuses to attend a class ordered under this subsection.

(c) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., the parties shall be responsible for any cost of attending the class. 2. If the court finds that a party is indigent, any costs that would be the responsibility of that party shall be paid by the county.

End

Amendment History

Wisconsin prints each section’s legislative history as a single “History” line naming every act that created or amended it, and every renumbering. It is reproduced verbatim below.

History: 1993 a. 225; 1997 a. 45; 1999 a. 9; 2001 a. 61; 2003 a. 130; 2005 a. 443 ss. 59 to 63, 180; Stats. 2005 s. 767.401; 2025 a. 24 s. 93.

Plain-English Summary

Two different things, with deliberately different consequences.

The programme. During a family action involving a minor child, or a paternity action, where the court decides it is appropriate and in the child's best interest, the court may order the parties to attend a programme on the effects of dissolution on children and on parenting skills. It must be educational rather than therapeutic, and it may not exceed a total of 4 hours. The parties bear the cost, and the court may assign responsibility for it. Attendance may be required as a condition of granting the final judgment, and a party who does not attend, or who does not pay costs specifically ordered, may be proceeded against for contempt.

The class. During a divorce or paternity action the court may order the parties to attend an approved class on child development, family dynamics and how parental separation affects children. Here the court may not make attendance a condition of the final judgment — but it may refuse to hear a custody or placement motion from a party who has not attended.

The line between them is the point. A short educational session can hold up the divorce; a longer class cannot, because holding a marriage's dissolution hostage to a course of instruction is a different thing from a brief orientation.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the Wisconsin parenting programme?

It may not exceed a total of 4 hours, and it must be educational rather than therapeutic in nature.

Can the divorce be held up until I attend?

The court may require attendance at the programme as a condition of granting the final judgment. It may not do that for the longer parenting class — though it may refuse to hear a custody or placement motion from a party who has not attended.

Who pays?

The parties are responsible for the cost of the programme, and the court may specifically assign responsibility for it. Failing to pay costs specifically ordered can be contempt.

What happens if I do not go?

A party who fails to attend a programme the court ordered, or to pay costs specifically ordered, may be proceeded against under ch. 785 for contempt of court.

Source & verification. The statutory text, official notes and history are reproduced verbatim from the Wisconsin Statutes, Chapter 767 (Wis. Stat. § 767.401), published by the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau. Current through 2025 Wisconsin Act 247. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified September 8, 2026. · Official source

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