On January 5, 2026, the Texas Public Policy Foundation filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of Texas in response to the Court’s request for briefing on the application of the Texas Constitution’s newly ratified parental rights amendment (Section 37, Article I) to existing statutes governing termination of parental rights decisions. This is the first opportunity the Supreme Court of Texas will have to interpret and apply the new constitutional amendment.
The Foundation has long advocated for the fundamental right of parents to direct the care and upbringing of their children free from government interference and assisted lawmakers with drafting the language of the amendment.
Section 37, Article I enshrines in the Texas Constitution protections for parental rights articulated in over a century of remarkably consistent caselaw from the United States Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Texas. The amendment recognizes that the parent-child relationship is a fundamental right deserving of expansive protection against government interference.
“In November, an overwhelming majority of Texans took the historic step of voting to make Texas the first state in the nation to enshrine affirmative protections for fundamental parental rights in its constitution,” said TPPF’s Andrew Brown. “The Foundation’s brief encourages the Supreme Court of Texas to interpret and apply the parental rights amendment in a manner consistent with desires of Texans, who expect their government to treat the parent-child relationship as sacred and safeguard it accordingly.”
“For generations, our Constitution has implicitly recognized the natural right of parents to direct the care and upbringing of their children. The new language adopted last year makes that fundamental right explicit. The Court should take that guidance from the voters seriously,” said TPPF’s Chance Weldon.
The brief also seeks to answer a specific question asked by the Court on how the parental rights amendment impacts existing statutes governing termination of parental rights.
Termination of parental rights is a legal remedy whereby the state can forever sever the relationship between a parent and child. As one of the most severe actions the state is empowered to take against its citizens, TPR is known as the “death penalty of civil cases.”
Due to severity of termination of parental rights, the Foundation argues that, consistent with existing caselaw and the text of the parental rights amendment, the remedy may only be used in very limited circumstances and should be subject to the highest level of scrutiny by courts.