Legislative Update: House Bill 307 and Juvenile Court

Many of the provisions in House Bill 307 have been in effect since December 1, 2025. And while this bill is largely related to pre-trial conditions in the adult criminal justice system, it also makes some changes to juvenile justice. The bill has provisions that permit extending the terms of probation and post release supervision for certain youth and requires notification to victims prior to termination of probation and post release in certain cases.

Extension of Probation

The bill edits 7B-2510 to allow for probation extensions for youth adjudicated of a class A, B1, or B2 felony. For these youth, the court may now extend probation for additional periods of up to one year after notice and hearing. The statue uses the language “may” instead of “shall” leaving the extension determination to the discretion of the court. If the court finds that the extension is necessary to protect the community or to safeguard the welfare of the juvenile, it can grant the extension for periods of up to one year at a time. However, the total period of probation for these youth cannot exceed three years. Additionally, at the discretion of the court, the statute also allows for probation to be extended after it has already expired, if handled at the next regularly scheduled court date or if the youth fails to appear in court.

Victim’s Rights

House Bill 307 also edits 7B-2511 which focuses on termination of probation to allow for victims the opportunity to be heard. The edits require that in cases involving victims as defined in Article 20A, the Division of Juvenile Justice must provide notice to the victim of the possible termination hearing, if they have requested to be notified of proceedings. It further requires the court to provide an opportunity for the victim, prosecutor, or person who will assert the victim’s rights to be heard at the hearing. Prior to the changes, the probation termination finding and order could be completed in chambers with the juvenile absent. While this is still a possibility for many cases, for cases involving victims, defenders should now expect to have in-court hearings with the juvenile present for probation termination.

Post Release Supervision

For post-release supervision of youth in Youth Development Centers (YDC), the bill makes changes to 7B-2514. Now youth who were adjudicated for Class A, B1, B2, or C felonies must complete three years of post-release supervision. This is a change from the prior law which required a minimum 90 days, up to a maximum one-year post release period for all offenses. The 90-day minimum and one-year maximum post-release period still does apply for all other offense levels. The law further requires that youth subject to the change may be terminated after notice and hearing. And similar to the victim’s right changes in the termination of probation section, the Division of Juvenile Justice must provide notice to the victim if requested and the court must an opportunity for the victim to be heard. With change, defenders should be aware of the new three year period for certain youth and think about juvenile justice jurisdiction limits. Because there is not a set time period for youth to be in YDC, they could be in the facility close to the end of juvenile jurisdiction in their cases. It is unclear how DJJ and courts will handle this issue for now, but defenders should be on the lookout for issues involving time periods and potential advocacy around earlier release. This longer period may also be a way to convince prosecutors and other actors to keep a case in juvenile court or remove the case to juvenile court since this post-release supervision period is now longer in these serious cases.

Other Changes

Outside of these juvenile specific changes, House Bill 307 has many changes to the

adult criminal system that will impact transferred and youth that in start in adult court. For a more comprehensive look at those changes, Brittney Bromell with the UNC School of Government has written about the changes in a recent blog post. If you have any questions about the juvenile changes, want to brainstorm your case, or have any feedback, please contact us!