bill lets a sole managing conservator pick the child’s school

The text as introduced · 781 words

89R2304 PRL-F

By: Dutton
H.B. No. 2495

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to certain rights of the sole managing conservator of a

child in relation to the child's enrollment in school.

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

SECTION 1. Section 153.132, Family Code, is amended to read

as follows:

Sec. 153.132. RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF PARENT APPOINTED SOLE

MANAGING CONSERVATOR. Unless limited by court order, a parent

appointed as sole managing conservator of a child has the rights and

duties provided by Subchapter B and the following exclusive rights:

(1) the right to designate the primary residence of

the child;

(2) the right to consent to medical, dental, and

surgical treatment involving invasive procedures;

(3) the right to consent to psychiatric and

psychological treatment;

(4) the right to receive and give receipt for periodic

payments for the support of the child and to hold or disburse these

funds for the benefit of the child;

(5) the right to represent the child in legal action

and to make other decisions of substantial legal significance

concerning the child;

(6) the right to consent to marriage and to enlistment

in the armed forces of the United States;

(7) the right to make decisions concerning the child's

education;

(8) the right to designate the school the child will

attend and to enroll the child in the school, subject to any

eligibility or admissions requirements;

(9) the right to the services and earnings of the

child;

(10) [ (9) ] except when a guardian of the child's

estate or a guardian or attorney ad litem has been appointed for the

child, the right to act as an agent of the child in relation to the

child's estate if the child's action is required by a state, the

United States, or a foreign government; and

(11) [ (10) ] the right to:

(A) apply for a passport for the child;

(B) renew the child's passport; and

(C) maintain possession of the child's passport.

SECTION 2. Section 153.371, Family Code, is amended to read

as follows:

Sec. 153.371. RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF NONPARENT APPOINTED AS

SOLE MANAGING CONSERVATOR. Unless limited by court order or other

provisions of this chapter, a nonparent, a licensed child-placing

agency, or the Department of Family and Protective Services

appointed as a managing conservator of the child has the following

rights and duties:

(1) the right to have physical possession and to

direct the moral and religious training of the child;

(2) the duty of care, control, protection, and

reasonable discipline of the child;

(3) the duty to provide the child with clothing, food,

shelter, education, and medical, psychological, and dental care;

(4) the right to consent for the child to medical,

psychiatric, psychological, dental, and surgical treatment and to

have access to the child's medical records;

(5) the right to receive and give receipt for payments

for the support of the child and to hold or disburse funds for the

benefit of the child;

(6) the right to the services and earnings of the

child;

(7) the right to consent to marriage and to enlistment

in the armed forces of the United States;

(8) the right to represent the child in legal action

and to make other decisions of substantial legal significance

concerning the child;

(9) except when a guardian of the child's estate or a

guardian or attorney ad litem has been appointed for the child, the

right to act as an agent of the child in relation to the child's

estate if the child's action is required by a state, the United

States, or a foreign government;

(10) the right to designate the primary residence of

the child and to make decisions regarding the child's education;

(11) the right to designate the school the child will

attend and to enroll the child in the school, subject to any

eligibility or admissions requirements;

(12) if the parent-child relationship has been

terminated with respect to the parents, or only living parent, or if

there is no living parent, the right to consent to the adoption of

the child and to make any other decision concerning the child that a

parent could make; and

(13) [ (12) ] the right to:

(A) apply for a passport for the child;

(B) renew the child's passport; and

(C) maintain possession of the child's passport.

SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act to Sections

153.132 and 153.371, Family Code, apply only to a suit affecting the

parent-child relationship that is pending in a trial court on or

filed on or after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.