Children’s Bill of Rights Texas: What Texas Law Says

In Texas, the Children’s Bill of Rights is a child-centered guideline list used in custody (called conservatorship under Texas law) and divorce cases. It is not a standalone Texas Family Code statute. It becomes enforceable only when specific language appears in a decree, temporary order, standing order, or parenting plan that becomes a court order. Tex. Fam. Code Chapter 153.

At Warren & Migliaccio, L.L.P., we have been handling Texas family law matters since 2006. Our team is Lead Counsel Verified, and we represent parents in Dallas, Collin, Denton, and Tarrant counties through divorce, custody, modification, and enforcement cases in North Texas state family courts. If a children’s bill of rights question is part of your situation, call (888) 584-9614 for a free consultation.

Key Definitions: What “Children’s Bill of Rights Texas” Actually Means

Three different concepts blur together in search results, and the confusion matters legally. The practical Children’s Bill of Rights is a checklist of behaviors parents agree to (or are ordered to) follow. House Bill 188 was a piece of proposed legislation that never became law. The actual statutes Texas judges apply in custody cases live in Chapter 153 of the Texas Family Code. Mixing those three together is the single most common mistake we see in articles on this topic.

How Texas Custody Orders Turn These Guidelines Into Enforceable Rules

Here is the part most people miss. The children’s bill of rights, on its own, does not have legal force. A judge cannot hold someone in contempt for violating a list that nobody signed and nobody ordered. So how does it ever matter in court? It matters when the language gets transcribed into a written order. The list isn’t a statute. The list, written into your decree, is enforceable.

Across cases in Dallas, Collin, Denton, and Tarrant counties, we see three distinct paths from “guideline” to “enforcement”:

• Contempt of court. If your final decree, temporary order, county standing order, or mediated settlement agreement that has been rendered into a court order contains specific behavioral language (no disparaging remarks, no using the child as a messenger, no interrogation after visits), and the other parent violates it, that can support a motion to enforce. Contempt depends on clear order language and proof of a specific violation. Tex. Fam. Code § 157.001.
• Modification based on changed circumstances and best interest. Even when the conduct is not in the order, a documented pattern (badmouthing, blocked phone calls, post-visit interrogation, telling the child about adult financial issues) can support a modification request if the Chapter 156 grounds are met, usually by showing a material and substantial change, and the requested change is in the child’s best interest. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.002; Tex. Fam. Code § 156.101. Texas public policy also favors frequent contact with parents who can act in the child’s best interest. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.001.
• Injunctive relief. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.193 (2026)³ permits restrictions on possession or access that are necessary to protect the child’s best interest. Courts can impose targeted injunctions (no-disparagement clauses, communication-respect clauses) when the evidence supports it.

Parents usually do not need another list. They need to know whether the behavior connects to a court order, a modification issue, or a narrowly tailored restriction. Use the tool below to organize the issue before you call or file anything.

One more legal anchor matters here. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.072 (2026)⁴ says a Texas court can only limit a parent’s conservator rights and duties if the court makes a written best-interest finding. In plain English, that means the judge needs documented evidence on the record before adjusting your order. Pattern documentation is what gets you there.

This is the gap most generic content on this topic misses. The question is not “is the children’s bill of rights law in Texas?” The real question, the one that actually changes outcomes, is “what part of the children’s bill of rights is in your order?”

Who This Article Helps vs. Who Needs Something Else

Best for:

• Texas parents in active divorce or custody disputes.
• Parents already under a custody decree dealing with badmouthing, blocked contact, or messenger behavior.
• Parents reading a draft decree and wondering whether children’s bill of rights language belongs in it.
• Parents in Dallas, Collin, Denton, and Tarrant counties responding to county standing orders.

Not ideal for:

• Foster parents. The Foster Children’s Bill of Rights at Tex. Fam. Code § 263.008¹ is a separate statute that applies to a different population.
• Parents searching for a national or non-Texas list. The framing here is Texas-specific.
• Attorneys looking for a litigation playbook. This is consumer-level guidance.
• Parents whose primary issue is child support enforcement. Different statutes apply.

Is the Children’s Bill of Rights a Law in Texas?

The short answer is no, not as a standalone statute. There is no provision in the Texas Family Code titled “Children’s Bill of Rights” that applies to private divorce or custody cases. The framework that Texas judges actually apply lives in Chapter 153 of the family code, which governs conservatorship, possession, and access.

So why do so many search results suggest otherwise? Two reasons.

First, House Bill 188. In the 81st Legislative Session, H.B. 188 was introduced in the Texas Legislature as a proposed “Children’s Bill of Rights,” but the bill’s last action was “No action taken in committee.” Bills that never pass don’t disappear from the legislature’s website. Introduced bill text is not current law. We see this confuse parents (and even some lawyers) who assume that because the bill text exists on the Texas Legislature website, the rights it lists are statutory. They are not. H.B. 188, 81st Leg., R.S. (Tex. 2009).

Second, the Foster Children’s Bill of Rights. Texas does have a codified Foster Children’s Bill of Rights, but it lives at Tex. Fam. Code § 263.008 and applies only to children in the conservatorship of the Department of Family and Protective Services. The statute requires DFPS to provide a written copy of those rights to children in state care and says it does not create a cause of action. It does not apply to private custody disputes between parents going through divorce or modification. Conflating the two creates real legal confusion. If you are a parent in a private custody case, § 263.008 is not your statute. Tex. Fam. Code § 263.008.

The list of behavioral expectations most people call “the children’s bill of rights” in a divorce context works best as a parenting framework, not a law. Many parents, mediators, and judges use it as a template for decree language. Many counties use versions of it in their standing orders. Once it is in your order, it has legal force. Standing alone, it does not.

What’s Typically on a Texas Children’s Bill of Rights List

There is no single official version. What we see in Texas custody practice, county standing orders, and decree language is a checklist of 12 to 15 behavioral commitments, framed as rights of the child rather than tasks for the parent. The legacy versions list eight items. Longer Texas-style lists (used by some North Texas family law mediators and seen in some county standing orders) run to 20 or 30 items. Here is the practical version, with brief Texas custody context after each.

1. The right not to be used as a spy or source of information about the other parent. Texas judges treat this as bordering on parental alienation, which can affect conservatorship rulings under § 153.001.
2. The right not to be a conduit of communication between the parents. Reasonable phone or electronic communication should run parent-to-parent, not parent-through-child-to-parent.
3. The right not to be subject to negativity or badmouthing about the other parent. Bad-mouthing in front of a child creates emotional distress. Texas law emphasizes that parents should not engage in behaviors that undermine the other parent’s relationship with the child.
4. The right not to be subject to complaints about child support, custody, or other adult financial issues. Parents should avoid discussing off-limit topics, such as child support, with their children. Those topics belong between the parents (and their lawyers), not between a parent and the child.
5. The right not to be expected to deal with adult issues to the same degree as the parents. Parental disputes are adult disputes. Parents should not ask children to manage them.
6. The right not to have to side with one parent over the other. Children have the right to maintain relationships with both parents, and Texas law protects them from serving as messengers or spies in parental disputes.
7. The right to maintain a relationship with the other parent through reasonable phone, electronic, and in-person contact when the order provides for it. Texas courts may award reasonable electronic communication to supplement possession time, but the order controls the details. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.015.
8. The right to appropriate support from both parents. Texas law gives parents duties to support their child, including food, clothing, shelter, medical and dental care, and education. A court may also order either or both parents to pay child support in the manner specified by the order. Tex. Fam. Code § 151.001; Tex. Fam. Code § 154.001.
9. The right to privacy during phone or electronic contact with the other parent. Parents should not deny their children reasonable use of the phone to communicate with the other parent, and they must respect the child’s privacy during those communications.
10. The right to keep photographs and memorabilia of the other parent. Removing or destroying photos of the other parent is a common pattern in high-conflict cases. It is also a common red flag in modification hearings.
11. The right not to be interrogated about the other parent’s home after visits. Post-visit interrogation is one of the patterns we see most often in modification cases. Parents who do it usually do not realize it is observable.
12. The right not to be pressured into legal proceedings or to take sides. Parents should not coach children to testify, ask them to write letters, or pressure them to express a preference.
13. The right to recognition that the child has two homes. Both parents should acknowledge that their children have two homes and should support the child’s relationship with the other parent, sharing parenting time as appropriate.
14. The right not to be transported by an intoxicated person or in vehicles where smoking occurs. Many Texas county standing orders include a version of this provision.
15. The right to carry reasonable belongings (clothing, toys, schoolwork) between homes. Some orders include a non-interference provision around belongings to head off this exact dispute.

None of these rights have legal force on their own. They are useful as a parenting framework, and they become enforceable when they appear in your written order.

What Texas Law Actually Says: Best Interest, Conservatorship, and Children’s Rights

The Texas Family Code does not have a “Children’s Bill of Rights” chapter, but it has an entire framework that handles the same set of concerns. The best way to think about it: the practical bill of rights tells parents what to do (or not do); Chapter 153 of the family code tells judges how to decide and what they can order. Here is the architecture.

Tex. Fam. Code § 153.001 (2026)². The Texas public policy on child custody. The state’s stated goals are to assure that children have frequent and continuing contact with parents who can act in the child’s best interest, to provide a safe, stable, and nonviolent environment, and to encourage parents to share rights and duties after separation or divorce. This is the public policy backdrop every custody order is supposed to advance.

Tex. Fam. Code § 153.002 (2026)⁵. The best interest of the child is the primary consideration in any conservatorship, possession, and access decision. In Texas, child custody, referred to as conservatorship, is determined based on the best interests of the child. That may involve one parent having primary custody while the other has a visitation schedule, or both parents sharing parenting time more evenly.

Tex. Fam. Code § 153.009 (2026). The child interview procedure. In a nonjury trial or hearing, on a proper request, the judge must interview a child age 12 or older in chambers about conservatorship or the person who should have the exclusive right to designate the child’s primary residence. The court may interview a child under 12 on those issues and may interview a child about possession, access, or another SAPCR issue. Interviewing the child does not control the result; the judge still decides under the child’s best interest. The court must make a record of a 12-or-older child’s interview when requested by a party, amicus attorney, or attorney ad litem, or when the court orders it on its own motion. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.009.

Tex. Fam. Code § 153.072 (2026)⁴. The court may limit a parent’s conservator rights and duties only if the court makes a written best-interest finding. This is the procedural anchor for most “the other parent should not be allowed to do X” requests. The judge needs evidence on the record.

Tex. Fam. Code § 153.131 (2026). The joint managing conservatorship presumption. Texas law presumes that appointing both parents as joint managing conservators is in the child’s best interest. A finding of a history of family violence between the parents removes that presumption, and the court must still decide conservatorship under the child’s best interest. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.004; Tex. Fam. Code § 153.131.

Tex. Fam. Code § 153.193 (2026)³. Restrictions on a parent’s possession or access cannot exceed what is required to protect the child’s best interest. This is the legal hook for tailored injunctions (no badmouthing in front of the child, no transporting under the influence, no exposing the child to certain individuals).

Tex. Fam. Code § 153.252 (2026)⁸. The standard possession order is presumed to provide reasonable minimum possession and to be in the child’s best interest. Many North Texas decrees adopt the standard possession order with additional behavioral terms drawn from children’s bill of rights style language.

Service Bridge. In over 20 years of practice, we have helped North Texas families translate exactly these statutes into practical parenting plans. The work is rarely about citing the statute in a hearing. It is about drafting order language that anticipates the conduct most likely to cause conflict and putting the right behavioral terms in writing before they become a problem. If you are negotiating decree language and want a Texas family law attorney to review the behavioral provisions before you sign, call (888) 584-9614 for a free consultation.

Step-by-Step: How to Document Children’s Bill of Rights Violations in Texas

So what do you do if the other parent is violating these provisions? The process matters. Here is how we walk clients through it.

1. Read your decree, temporary order, county standing order, and any mediated settlement agreement that has been rendered into a court order. Identify which specific behavioral provisions exist. Highlight the exact language. If a provision is not in an order, contempt is not available for that conduct (modification might be).
2. Build a contemporaneous log. Date, time, location, exact behavior observed, witnesses if any. Treat it like evidence from day one. A log written months after the fact is much weaker than entries made the same day.
3. Preserve corroborating records. Text messages, voicemails, emails, social media posts, school records, exchange logs. Save copies in a separate location. Do not delete anything from your phone until you have backed it up.
4. Document the child’s emotional response if observable, but do not interrogate the child to gather evidence. Interrogating the child often violates the children’s bill of rights itself and can hurt your case. The pattern is observable without questioning the child directly.
5. Talk to a Texas family law attorney before confronting the other parent. The right legal posture depends on which order provision was violated and which remedy fits. If you are facing this situation, call (888) 584-9614 for a free consultation.
6. Decide on the remedy. Contempt for clear written-order violations. Modification when Chapter 156 grounds and best interest are shown. Tailored restrictions under § 153.193 for ongoing safety concerns. The right path depends on the facts and the order. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.193; Tex. Fam. Code § 156.101; Tex. Fam. Code § 157.001.

Texas Statutes That Apply

The full set of Texas Family Code provisions that govern conservatorship, possession, and child-protection issues commonly addressed in a children’s bill of rights:

• Tex. Fam. Code § 153.001 (2026)². Texas public policy on child custody: frequent and continuing contact with both fit parents and a safe, stable environment.
• Tex. Fam. Code § 153.002 (2026)⁵. Best interest of the child is the primary consideration in conservatorship and possession.
• Tex. Fam. Code § 153.009 (2026). Child interview procedure. In a nonjury trial or hearing, a child age 12 or older must be interviewed on a proper request about conservatorship or primary-residence wishes; other interview issues are discretionary. Record rules also apply.
• Tex. Fam. Code § 153.072 (2026)⁴. Court must make a written best-interest finding to limit a parent’s conservator rights.
• Tex. Fam. Code § 153.131 (2026). Joint managing conservatorship presumption, family-violence removal of that presumption, and significant-impairment standard for appointing a parent as managing conservator.
• Tex. Fam. Code § 153.193 (2026)³. Limits on possession and access tied to best-interest necessity.
• Tex. Fam. Code § 153.252 (2026)⁸. Standard possession order presumption.
• Tex. Fam. Code § 263.008 (2026)¹. Foster Children’s Bill of Rights. Cited here for distinction. Applies to foster care, not private custody.

Mistakes to Avoid (and Bad Advice Online About the Children’s Bill of Rights)

• Treating the children’s bill of rights as binding statute. You may read online that “the Texas Legislature created the Children’s Bill of Rights.” Under Texas law, that is not accurate for divorce and custody cases. House Bill 188 was introduced and never enacted. The actual framework is Chapter 153.
• Trying to enforce the “spirit” of the list without checking your order. The list has no legal weight standing alone. Only the parts written into your decree, temporary order, or county standing order are enforceable. Read your order before assuming the conduct is sanctionable.
• Interrogating the child to build a violations log. This often violates the bill of rights itself and can cut against the parent doing the interrogating in the next hearing. Texas judges notice the pattern.
• Confusing the divorce or custody children’s bill of rights with the Foster Children’s Bill of Rights at § 263.008. Different population, different statute, different application.
• Filing for contempt before getting legal advice. Contempt requires specific written-order violations and clean documentation. A failed contempt motion can damage the underlying case. There is no medal for filing first. Talk to a lawyer first.

If you have a children’s bill of rights question that this article does not answer, our family law team is ready to help. Call (888) 584-9614 for a free consultation. We represent parents across Dallas, Collin, Denton, and Tarrant counties.

Legal Authorities

1. Tex. Fam. Code § 263.008 (2026) (Foster Children’s Bill of Rights). Texas Legislature, Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle E, Chapter 263, Subchapter A.
2. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.001 (2026) (Public Policy on Conservatorship). Texas Legislature, Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle B, Chapter 153, Subchapter A.
3. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.193 (2026) (Minimal Restriction on Parent’s Possession or Access). Texas Legislature, Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle B, Chapter 153, Subchapter D.
4. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.072 (2026) (Written Finding Required to Limit Conservator Rights). Texas Legislature, Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle B, Chapter 153, Subchapter B.
5. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.002 (2026) (Best Interest of Child). Texas Legislature, Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle B, Chapter 153, Subchapter A.
6. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.009 (2026) (Interview of Child in Chambers). Texas Legislature, Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle B, Chapter 153, Subchapter A.
7. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.131 (2026) (Presumption That Parent to Be Appointed Managing Conservator). Texas Legislature, Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle B, Chapter 153, Subchapter C.
8. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.252 (2026) (Rebuttable Presumption for Standard Possession Order). Texas Legislature, Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle B, Chapter 153, Subchapter E.
9. Tex. Fam. Code § 151.001 (2026) (Rights and Duties of Parent). Texas Legislature, Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle B, Chapter 151.
10. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.004 (2026) (History of Domestic Violence or Sexual Abuse). Texas Legislature, Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle B, Chapter 153, Subchapter A.
11. Tex. Fam. Code § 153.015 (2026) (Electronic Communication With Child by Conservator). Texas Legislature, Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle B, Chapter 153, Subchapter A.
12. Tex. Fam. Code § 154.001 (2026) (Support of Child). Texas Legislature, Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle B, Chapter 154, Subchapter A.
13. Tex. Fam. Code § 156.101 (2026) (Grounds for Modification of Order Establishing Conservatorship or Possession and Access). Texas Legislature, Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle B, Chapter 156, Subchapter B.
14. Tex. Fam. Code § 157.001 (2026) (Motion for Enforcement). Texas Legislature, Family Code, Title 5, Subtitle B, Chapter 157, Subchapter A.
15. Tex. R. Civ. P. 145 (2026) (Payment of Costs Not Required). Texas Rules of Civil Procedure.
16. H.B. 188, 81st Leg., R.S. (Tex. 2009). Texas Legislative Reference Library history: introduced; no action taken in committee.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client relationship.