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, the official text

H.B. No. 1151

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.

______________________________
______________________________

President of the Senate
Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 1151 was passed by the House on April

16, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 145, Nays 1, 1 present, not

voting.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 1151 was passed by the Senate on May

14, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

APPROVED: _____________________

Date

_____________________

Governor