Parental Rights in Texas
Texas Parental Rights News
New Family Protections in Texas, Florida
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Friday signed a law that will protect families from unnecessary separation on the opinion of a single child abuse pediatrician. At the same time, the Florida legislature sent its Parents’ Bill of Rights to Governor Ron DeSantis for his signature, which is expected at any time. Listen to the Second…
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Texas State Law and Parental Rights
Protected
Texas Family Code Sect. 151.003 declares the following:
"A state agency may not adopt rules or policies or take any other action that violates the fundamental rights and duty of parents to direct the upbringing of the parent's child."
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Texas Courts and Parental Rights
"Strict Scrutiny" Applied to Parental Rights
Texas courts have repeatedly recognized the rights of parents to oversee the care of their children as a fundamental right deserving of the strict scrutiny standard.
In In re Pensom, 126 S.W.3d 251, 254 (Tex. Ct. App. 2003), a Texas Court of Appeals ruled, "Because a fundamental right is implicated here [that is, parental rights], we apply strict scrutiny and will uphold the statute if it is narrowly tailored to serve a compelling government interest," citing Troxel, 530 U.S. at 79 (Souter, J., concurring) and 80 (Thomas, J., concurring).