83R5433 BPG-D
By: Burkett, et al. H.C.R. No. 38
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The right of parents to direct the upbringing of
their children is fundamental, and the interests of children are
best served when parents are free to make decisions regarding their
education, their religion, and other aspects of their lives without
governmental interference; and
WHEREAS, In its 1972 Wisconsin v. Yoder decision, the United
States Supreme Court held that the "primary role of the parents in
the upbringing of their children is now established beyond debate
as an enduring American tradition," yet the more recent Troxel v.
Granville case resulted in a splintered six-way decision by the
supreme court that has caused ambiguity about the rights of parents
for courts at the state and federal levels; and
WHEREAS, Moreover, the U.S. Senate may be poised to ratify
the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which
would drastically alter the fundamental right of parents to direct
the upbringing of their own children; international law can
influence the supreme court's rulings, as illustrated in the 2005
decision Roper v. Simmons, raising the possibility that a future
court might allow external authorities to erode the American
tradition of treating parental rights as fundamental rights; and
WHEREAS, The proposed Parental Rights Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution states that "[t]he liberty of parents to direct the
upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental right,"
that "[n]either the United States nor any state shall infringe upon
this right without demonstrating that its governmental interest as
applied to the person is of the highest order and not otherwise
served," and that "[n]o treaty may be adopted nor shall any source
of international law be employed to supersede, modify, interpret,
or apply to the rights guaranteed by this article"; and
WHEREAS, The Texas Legislature has affirmed the importance of
parental rights in such statutes as Section 40.002(b)(2), Human
Resources Code, which spells out the need for the Department of
Family and Protective Services to "respect the fundamental right of
parents to control the education and upbringing of their children,"
and Section 151.003, Family Code, which establishes the type of
standard that should be instituted at the federal level by
providing that "[a] state agency may not adopt rules or policies or
take any other action that violates the fundamental right and duty
of a parent to direct the upbringing of the parent's child"; and
WHEREAS, Explicitly enumerating the rights of parents in the
Constitution of the United States will protect these rights in
perpetuity from the shifting ideologies and interpretations of the
supreme court and from the threat of being placed under the
jurisdiction of the international community, thereby preserving
the cherished American tradition of entrusting parents to raise
their own children; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas
respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to propose and
submit to the states for ratification the Parental Rights Amendment
to the United States Constitution; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to
the president of the Senate and speaker of the House of
Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the
members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that
this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a
memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.