H.B. No. 2536
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) 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) 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) sought an opinion from more than one medical
provider relating to the child's medical care, transferred the
child's medical care to a new medical provider, or transferred the
child to another health care facility.
SECTION 2. Section 261.001(4), Family Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(4) "Neglect":
(A) includes:
(i) the leaving of a child in a situation
where the child would be exposed to 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 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 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 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) a decision by a person responsible for
a child's care, custody, or welfare to:
(a) obtain an opinion from more than
one medical provider relating to the child's medical care;
(b) transfer the child's medical care
to a new medical provider; or
(c) transfer the child to another
health care facility [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) sought an opinion from more than one medical
provider relating to the child's medical care, transferred the
child's medical care to a new medical provider, or transferred the
child to another health care facility.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2021.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2536 was passed by the House on April
13, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 148, Nays 0, 1 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2536 was passed by the Senate on April
29, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: _____________________
Date
_____________________
Governor