SB2324 makes several changes to Tennessee law governing child-related proceedings in juvenile court and related family-law matters. First, it broadens a cross-reference in the custody statute so that the court may consider the full set of best-interest factors in § 36-6-106(a). It also creates a new fee-shifting provision allowing a prevailing party in juvenile-court cases involving custody, visitation, parental relocation, child support, or dependency and neglect to recover reasonable attorney’s fees, court costs, and litigation expenses, while expressly prohibiting fee awards for or against the Department.
The bill also authorizes a juvenile court to temporarily suspend a child support obligation when a child is alleged to be dependent and neglected and is removed from the original custodial parent’s physical custody during the case. In addition, it requires parents in certain juvenile proceedings involving unmarried parents and custody or parenting-schedule disputes to attend a parent education seminar covering co-parenting, conflict reduction, adverse childhood experiences, domestic violence, and the court process. The seminar must generally be completed before a final order is entered, but the court may waive the requirement for good cause, and indigent parents may have fees waived.
The bill further allows courts to hold a parent in contempt for willful noncompliance with the seminar requirement and to treat unjustified failure to attend as a factor in custody and visitation decisions, while still prohibiting a court from refusing to adjudicate parental rights solely because a parent did not attend. In dependency and neglect or other juvenile proceedings, the court may also order a parent, guardian, or custodian to attend the seminar if it would benefit the child’s best interests or help resolve the case. Finally, the bill adds a provision stating that the relevant chapter does not supersede or limit existing statutory law, court rules, case law, or judicial authority.
The bill’s impact is to expand procedural tools available in juvenile and family courts, increase the likelihood of fee awards in child-related litigation, and formalize parent-education requirements in certain custody and visitation disputes. It affects parents, custodians, and litigants in juvenile court, while carving out the Department from fee liability and preserving judicial discretion on waivers, enforcement, and best-interest determinations. The act takes effect July 1, 2026.
Overall, the bill appears to have been generally supported, advancing through the Senate Judiciary Committee and both chambers with substantial majorities. The recorded votes suggest broad agreement on the bill’s family-court and child-welfare provisions, though not unanimous support. No committee transcript was provided, so the available record does not show detailed debate, but the vote margins indicate the measure was viewed favorably by most legislators.
SB2324 amends Tennessee Code Annotated Titles 36 and 37 to change how juvenile courts handle custody, visitation, child support, dependency and neglect, and parent education requirements. It creates a new attorney-fee and litigation-expense recovery rule in specified juvenile proceedings, authorizes temporary suspension of child support in dependency and neglect cases when a child is removed from a custodial parent, and establishes a parent education seminar requirement for certain unmarried-parent custody and visitation cases, with waiver and indigency protections. It also clarifies that these provisions do not limit existing judicial authority or override other law.
The bill’s voting history reflects generally positive sentiment and broad legislative support. It passed the Senate Judiciary Committee 7-2, then cleared floor votes by 26-5 and 74-19, indicating that most lawmakers supported the bill’s approach to child-related proceedings, parent education, and court discretion. The available record does not include committee testimony, so the specific arguments for or against the bill are not documented here, but the margins suggest the measure was not especially controversial overall.
The main points of potential contention are the new fee-shifting provision, the mandatory parent education seminar requirement, and the ability to suspend child support during dependency and neglect proceedings. Fee awards could be seen as increasing litigation risk for losing parties, while the seminar mandate may be viewed as adding cost and procedural burden, especially for unmarried parents, though the bill includes indigency waivers and good-cause exceptions. The child-support suspension provision may also raise concerns about support continuity during pending dependency cases. The bill addresses some of these concerns by preserving judicial discretion, allowing waivers for domestic violence or impracticality, and exempting the Department from fee awards.