Youth Justice Legislative Roundup - April 2026

A number of state legislative sessions have now ended or are winding down. We bring you an update on the legislation we reported on in our last newsletter as well as some additional bills of importance to a trauma-centered approach to youth justice. We invite you to share policies that are being considered in your state so that we can track, respond, and advocate together for what young people need most. 

For the most up-to-date info, check out our 2026 Legislative Tracker.

Age of Jurisdiction

• Virginia has finally established a minimum age for juvenile court jurisdiction! On April 13th Governor Spanberger signed into law SB 18, establishing a minimum age for juvenile delinquency of 11 years old.

  
  

• In further good news, the Maryland General Assembly passed SB323 which limits the use of automatic transfers of minors to adult court. It will reduce the number of youth currently being auto transferred by approximately 50 percent.  The bill will also eventually end the practice of locking up youth in adult jails. It is awaiting Governor Moore’s signature. He indicated that he plans to sign the bill.

  
  

• Also on the positive side, Indiana passed legislation (HB 1249) which removes certain felony firearm charges from the list of those charges for which kids are automatically transferred to adult court.

  
  

• New York continues to battle attempts by prosecutors, police unions, and conservative tabloids to roll back their Raise the Age law, which fully went into effect in 2019. Until 2017, New York was one of two states treating all 16 and 17-year-olds as if they were adults. For a full description of the controversy, see this article in The Imprint.

  
  

• In a move that research shows will only harm young people and make everyone less safe, Missouri passed SB 888, which makes it easier for prosecutors to transfer kids ages 14 to 17 years old to adult court and helps localities build more youth jails by allowing them to create a 1% sales tax to fund such construction.

Legal Representation & Due Process

• Nebraska’s bill (LB995) to ensure that all youth have access to legal representation in juvenile court died in committee.

  
  

• No movement yet on Illinois’s bill (HB 4640/SB 2973) that would require children to have legal counsel throughout custodial interrogation in cases that could lead to an adult prosecution or sentence.   

Restorative Justice & Community-Based Models

• The Illinois House of Representatives has passed HB 4639 to expand the use of restorative justice by encouraging juvenile justice courts to consider restorative justice alternatives at all stages of the case. It now heads to the Senate for consideration.

  
  

• No movement yet on New York’s legislation, entitled the Youth Justice Innovation Fund (S643), to earmark millions in unspent Raise the Age dollars and use it to directly fund community-based organizations to provide services to help young people. 

  
  

Restraint, Seclusion & Conditions of Confinement

• Virginia passed legislation (HB 91) directing the Department of Juvenile Justice, in collaboration with youth justice advocates, public defenders, attorneys for the Commonwealth, and other relevant stakeholders, to establish standards relating to limiting room or cell confinement for minors committed to a juvenile correctional facility. 

  
  

• Nebraska’s bill (LB996 )to end the routine shackling of youth died in committee.

Detention & Incarceration

• In a step backwards, the Kansas legislature not only passed legislation (HB2329 )to expand the incarceration of youth for longer periods of time, but overrode the Governor’s veto of the bill.

Expungement

• Virginia passed legislation (SB 230) allowing for the expungement of juvenile records in cases where the young person was not adjudicated delinquent.

Reentry

• Nebraska passed the Youth Reentry and Transitional Support Act (L. 962) which provides for discharge planning for youth entering juvenile facilities, out of home placements, or probation.

  
  

If you’d like us to include legislation in your state in our next Roundup, please contact Melissa Goemann at mgoemann@nextgejustice.org.