Texas Proposes Parental Rights Amendment
This November, Texas voters will be asked to vote for or against “the constitutional amendment affirming that parents are the primary decision makers for their children.”
This follows a unanimous May 20 vote in the Texas Senate in favor of House amendments to Senate Joint Resolution 34 (SJR 34), which proposes a Parental Rights Amendment to the Texas Constitution.
The Senate originally passed SJR 34 on March 11, sending it to the House for concurrence. In the House, the resolution was amended before it passed that chamber on May 14. Since the Senate and House versions both passed but did not match, the Senate had to vote again, agreeing to the House’s changes by a 31-0 vote on Tuesday.
If Texas voters approve the measure in November, it will add the following to Section 1, Article 1 of the Texas Constitution:
Sec. 37. To enshrine truths that are deeply rooted in this nation’s history and traditions, the people of Texas hereby affirm that a parent has the responsibility to nurture and protect the parent’s child and the corresponding fundamental right to exercise care, custody, and control of the parent’s child, including the right to make decisions concerning the child’s upbringing.
Obviously, this is a major victory for parental rights in the Texas legislature, and well worth celebrating.
But now is when the real work begins.
A similar measure went down in defeat in Colorado in the 1990s, because opponents of parental rights are well organized, well funded, and not above using lies and scare tactics to have their way with our children. The Colorado measure was winning in polls until two weeks before the election, when opponents launched a misinformation campaign claiming that preserving parental rights would mean protecting child abusers. Out of concern for the safety of children, Colorado voters reversed course and voted the measure down.
What this means for Texas in 2025 is clear: We must educate voters (if you’re in Texas, that means your family, neighbors, and friends) that protecting parental rights does not protect child abusers. Parental rights are fundamental, but they are not absolute: No one has a right to abuse a child.
Rather, this measure links parental rights with “the responsibility to nurture and protect” their children.
Sadly, abuse does occur. And when it does, the state will still have the power to protect children from abusive parents. This amendment will not change that.
What it will accomplish, however, is a greater respect for the irreplaceable role of fit and loving parents in the life of their child.
We see government overreach in so many areas of our children’s lives, where we as parents are trying to do what we know is best for them, while a government actor is standing in the way. This amendment will empower parents in those situations.
Texas has made great gains in parental rights in recent years, passing laws protecting a parent’s right to a second opinion in a “medical abuse or neglect” investigation; requiring the Department of Child Welfare to notify parents of their rights at the start of an abuse investigation; and tightening the definition of “neglect” to exclude things that are really just signs of poverty.
While it takes time for changes made at the legislative level to make their way to the day-in, day-out routine of Texas families, these are positive changes that will make the Lone Star State safer for families.
Hopefully, this November, Texas voters will add another tool to this legal arsenal: a parental rights section in the Texas Constitution.