Relating to the qualifications, communications, and recordkeeping of a child custody evaluator and the admissibility of a child custody evaluation under certain circumstances, the official text

H.B. No. 2340

AN ACT

relating to the qualifications, communications, and recordkeeping

of a child custody evaluator and the admissibility of a child

custody evaluation under certain circumstances.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 107.104(a), Family Code, is amended by

adding Subdivisions (3) and (4) to read as follows:

(3) "Developmental disability" has the meaning

assigned by Section 614.001, Health and Safety Code.

(4) "Intellectual disability" has the meaning

assigned by Section 591.003, Health and Safety Code.

SECTION 2. Section 107.104, Family Code, is amended by

adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:

(f) In addition to the qualifications prescribed by this

section, to be qualified to conduct a child custody evaluation

under this subchapter, an individual must complete, during the

two-year period preceding the evaluation, at least three hours of

initial or continuing training, as applicable, related to the care

of a child with an intellectual disability or developmental

disability, including education, therapy, preparation for

independent living, or methods for addressing physical or mental

health challenges.

SECTION 3. Section 107.112, Family Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (c), (d), and (f) and adding Subsection (i) to

read as follows:

(c) Except for records obtained from the department in

accordance with Section 107.111 or from an entity described by

Section 107.1111(a) in accordance with Section 107.1111, a private

child custody evaluator shall, after completion of an evaluation

and the [preparation and] filing of a notice [child custody

evaluation report] under Section 107.113(b) [107.113], make

available in a reasonable time the evaluator's records relating to

the evaluation on the written request of an attorney for a party, a

party who does not have an attorney, and any person appointed under

this chapter in the suit in which the evaluator conducted the

evaluation, unless a court has issued an order restricting

disclosure of the records.

(d) Subject to Subsection (b-1) and except for records

obtained from the department in accordance with Section 107.111 or

from an entity described by Section 107.1111(a) in accordance with

Section 107.1111, records relating to a child custody evaluation

conducted by an employee of or contractor with a domestic relations

office shall, after completion of the evaluation and the

[preparation and] filing of a notice [child custody evaluation

report] under Section 107.113(b) [107.113], be made available

according to the local rules and policies of the office on written

request of an attorney for a party, a party who does not have an

attorney, and any person appointed under this chapter in the suit in

which the evaluator conducted the evaluation, unless a court has

issued an order restricting disclosure of the records [according to

the local rules and policies of the office].

(f) A private child custody evaluator shall retain all

records relating to a child custody evaluation conducted by the

evaluator until the ending date of the retention period adopted by

the licensing authority that issues the professional license held

by the evaluator based on the date the evaluator filed the notice

under Section 107.113(b) [child custody evaluation report prepared

under this section] with the court.

(i) A child custody evaluator shall redact any social

security number or child's birth date from records subject to

disclosure under this section before making the records available.

SECTION 4. Section 107.114, Family Code, is amended by

adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a-1) Unless the child custody evaluator is appointed under

Section 107.106, the court may not admit into evidence a child

custody evaluation report prepared under Section 107.113 if:

(1) the child who is the subject of the report has an

intellectual disability or developmental disability; and

(2) on the date the evaluation that is the subject of

the report was made, the child custody evaluator had not satisfied

the training requirement under Section 107.104(f).

SECTION 5. Sections 107.104(f) and 107.114(a-1), Family

Code, as added by this Act, apply only to a child custody evaluation

that is conducted by a child custody evaluator appointed by a court

on or after January 1, 2026. A child custody evaluation conducted by

a child custody evaluator appointed by a court before January 1,

2026, is governed by the law in effect immediately before the

effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in

effect for that purpose.

SECTION 6. Sections 107.112(c) and (d), Family Code, as

amended by this Act, and Section 107.112(i), Family Code, as added

by this Act, apply to a disclosure of information made on or after

the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 7. Section 107.112(f), Family Code, as amended by

this Act, applies to all records in the possession of a child

custody evaluator on or after the effective date of this Act,

regardless of whether the records were created before, on, or after

that date.

SECTION 8. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

______________________________
______________________________

President of the Senate
Speaker of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 2340 was passed by the House on April

30, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 0, 1 present, not

voting.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

I certify that H.B. No. 2340 was passed by the Senate on May

21, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

APPROVED: _____________________

Date

_____________________

Governor