AUSTIN — Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation released new research calling for the creation of a Texas Office of Parental Rights within the Office of the Attorney General. The report finds that Texas has advanced parental rights through statute and a state constitutional amendment recognizing a parent’s right and duty to nurture and protect their children, but that those protections remain under-enforced.
The report recommends that the Legislature establish a centralized office in Austin charged with knowing current parental-rights laws, reviewing their original intent, providing courts and families with directly relevant legal information, and enforcing statutes that protect the parent-child relationship. It argues that parental rights are grounded in natural law, Western and American history, and U.S. Supreme Court precedent, and that involved parenting is strongly associated with better outcomes for children in school, work, and social life.
“Texas has led the nation in recognizing that parents, not the government, are best equipped to raise their children, but a right on paper is only as strong as the state’s willingness to defend it,” said Andrew Brown, Vice President of Policy. “Right now, a parent whose rights are violated has to hire a lawyer and fight a multi-year legal battle just to exercise authority the Texas Constitution already guarantees them. An Office of Parental Rights would give families a direct line to enforcement, instead of leaving them to fend for themselves against the state that promised to stand behind them.”
“A single office dedicated to parental rights can close the gap between the laws Texas has written and the way those laws are applied,” said Noah Torres, Policy Director for the Family Success Project. “Parents need an institution that understands the statutes, defends their original purpose, and makes sure the state’s commitment to family authority is carried out in practice—not just announced on paper.”
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