89R3843 MM-F
By: Hull H.B. No. 1151
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
make a finding under Subsection (b) and order termination of the
parent-child relationship:
(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;
(5) the parent declined immunization for the child for
reasons of conscience, including a religious belief;
(6) the parent 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; [or]
(7) 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;
(8) the parent refused to administer or consent to the
administration of a psychotropic medication to the child, or to
consent to any other psychiatric or psychological treatment of the
child, unless the refusal:
(A) presents a substantial risk of death,
disfigurement, or bodily injury to the child; or
(B) results in an observable and material
impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of the child;
or
(9) the parent chose a recognized alternative health
care treatment or therapy for the child that could be considered as
new, emerging, or nonstandard, unless the treatment or therapy:
(A) presents a substantial risk of death,
disfigurement, or bodily injury to the child; or
(B) results in an observable and material
impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of the child.
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 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 of 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 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 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) the child has a severe emotional
disturbance;
(b) 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) the person has exhausted all
reasonable means available to the person to obtain the mental
health services described by Sub-subparagraph (b);
(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; [or]
(iii) 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;
(iv) the refusal by a person responsible
for a child's care, custody, or welfare to administer or consent to
the administration of a psychotropic medication to the child, or to
consent to any other psychiatric or psychological treatment of the
child, unless the refusal:
(a) presents a substantial risk of
death, disfigurement, or bodily injury to the child; or
(b) results in an observable and
material impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of
the child; or
(v) choosing a recognized alternative
health care treatment or therapy for the child that could be
considered as new, emerging, or nonstandard, unless the treatment
or therapy:
(a) presents a substantial risk of
death, disfigurement, or bodily injury to the child; or
(b) results in an observable and
material impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of
the child.
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;
(5) declined immunization for the child for reasons of
conscience, including a religious belief;
(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;
(7) 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; [or]
(8) tested positive for marihuana, unless the
department has evidence that the parent's use of marihuana has
caused significant impairment to the child's physical or mental
health or emotional development;
(9) refused to administer or consent to the
administration of a psychotropic medication to the child, or to
consent to any other psychiatric or psychological treatment of the
child, unless the refusal:
(A) presents a substantial risk of death,
disfigurement, or bodily injury to the child; or
(B) results in an observable and material
impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of the child;
or
(10) chose a recognized alternative health care
treatment or therapy for the child that could be considered as new,
emerging, or nonstandard, unless the treatment or therapy:
(A) presents a substantial risk of death,
disfigurement, or bodily injury to the child; or
(B) results in an observable and material
impairment to the growth, development, or functioning of the child.
SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
a suit filed by the Department of Family and Protective Services on
or after the effective date of this Act. A suit filed by the
department before that date is governed by the law in effect on the
date the suit was filed, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.