87R639 MCK-F
By: Noble H.B. No. 1317
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to neglect of a child and the grounds for termination of
the parent-child relationship and possession of a child by the
Department of Family and Protective Services.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 161.001(c), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(c) Evidence of one or more of the following does not
constitute clear and convincing evidence sufficient for a court to
[A court may not] make a finding under Subsection (b) and order
termination of the parent-child relationship [based on evidence
that the parent]:
(1) the parent homeschooled the child;
(2) the parent is economically disadvantaged;
(3) the parent has been charged with a nonviolent
misdemeanor offense other than:
(A) an offense under Title 5, Penal Code;
(B) an offense under Title 6, Penal Code; or
(C) an offense that involves family violence, as
defined by Section 71.004 of this code;
(4) the parent provided or administered low-THC
cannabis to a child for whom the low-THC cannabis was prescribed
under Chapter 169, Occupations Code; [or]
(5) the parent declined immunization for the child for
reasons of conscience, including a religious belief; or
(6) the parent allowed the child to engage in
independent activities that are appropriate and typical for the
child's level of maturity, physical condition, developmental
abilities, or culture.
SECTION 2. Section 261.001(4), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(4) "Neglect" means an act or failure to act by a
person responsible for a child's care, custody, or welfare
evidencing the person's blatant disregard for the consequences of
the act or failure to act that results in harm to the child or that
creates an immediate danger to the child's physical health or
safety and:
(A) includes:
(i) the leaving of a child in a situation
where the child would be exposed to an immediate danger [a
substantial risk] of physical or mental harm, without arranging for
necessary care for the child, and the demonstration of an intent not
to return by a parent, guardian, or managing or possessory
conservator of the child;
(ii) the following acts or omissions by a
person:
(a) placing a child in or failing to
remove a child from a situation that a reasonable person would
realize requires judgment or actions beyond the child's level of
maturity, physical condition, or mental abilities and that results
in bodily injury or an immediate danger [a substantial risk] of
[immediate] harm to the child;
(b) failing to seek, obtain, or follow
through with medical care for a child, with the failure resulting in
or presenting an immediate danger [a substantial risk] of death,
disfigurement, or bodily injury or with the failure resulting in an
observable and material impairment to the growth, development, or
functioning of the child;
(c) the failure to provide a child
with food, clothing, or shelter necessary to sustain the life or
health of the child, excluding failure caused primarily by
financial inability unless relief services had been offered and
refused;
(d) placing a child in or failing to
remove the child from a situation in which the child would be
exposed to an immediate danger [a substantial risk] of sexual
conduct harmful to the child; or
(e) placing a child in or failing to
remove the child from a situation in which the child would be
exposed to acts or omissions that constitute abuse under
Subdivision (1)(E), (F), (G), (H), or (K) committed against another
child;
(iii) the failure by the person responsible
for a child's care, custody, or welfare to permit the child to
return to the child's home without arranging for the necessary care
for the child after the child has been absent from the home for any
reason, including having been in residential placement or having
run away; or
(iv) a negligent act or omission by an
employee, volunteer, or other individual working under the auspices
of a facility or program, including failure to comply with an
individual treatment plan, plan of care, or individualized service
plan, that causes or may cause substantial emotional harm or
physical injury to, or the death of, a child served by the facility
or program as further described by rule or policy; and
(B) does not include:
(i) the refusal by a person responsible for
a child's care, custody, or welfare to permit the child to remain in
or return to the child's home resulting in the placement of the
child in the conservatorship of the department if:
(a) [(i)] the child has a severe
emotional disturbance;
(b) [(ii)] the person's refusal is
based solely on the person's inability to obtain mental health
services necessary to protect the safety and well-being of the
child; and
(c) [(iii)] the person has exhausted
all reasonable means available to the person to obtain the mental
health services described by Sub-subparagraph (b); or
(ii) allowing the child to engage in
independent activities that are appropriate and typical for the
child's level of maturity, physical condition, developmental
abilities, or culture [Subparagraph (ii)].
SECTION 3. Section 262.116(a), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The Department of Family and Protective Services may not
take possession of a child under this subchapter based on evidence
that the parent:
(1) homeschooled the child;
(2) is economically disadvantaged;
(3) has been charged with a nonviolent misdemeanor
offense other than:
(A) an offense under Title 5, Penal Code;
(B) an offense under Title 6, Penal Code; or
(C) an offense that involves family violence, as
defined by Section 71.004 of this code;
(4) provided or administered low-THC cannabis to a
child for whom the low-THC cannabis was prescribed under Chapter
169, Occupations Code; [or]
(5) declined immunization for the child for reasons of
conscience, including a religious belief; or
(6) allowed the child to engage in independent
activities that are appropriate and typical for the child's level
of maturity, physical condition, developmental abilities, or
culture.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.