85R964 KSM-F     By: Hall S.C.R. No. 2       CONCURRENT RESOLUTION          WHEREAS, The right of parents to direct the upbringing of   their children is fundamental, and the interests of children are   best served when parents are free to make decisions regarding their   education, their religion, and other aspects of their lives without   governmental interference; and          WHEREAS, In its 1972 Wisconsin v. Yoder decision, the United   States Supreme Court held that the "primary role of the parents in   the upbringing of their children is now established beyond debate   as an enduring American tradition," yet the more recent Troxel v.   Granville case resulted in a splintered six-way decision by the   supreme court that has caused ambiguity about the rights of parents   for courts at the state and federal levels; and          WHEREAS, Moreover, the United States is being encouraged to   ratify the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,   which would drastically alter the fundamental right of parents to   direct the upbringing of their own children; international law can   influence the supreme court's rulings, as illustrated in the 2005   decision Roper v. Simmons, raising the possibility that a future   court might allow external authorities to erode the American   tradition of treating parental rights as fundamental rights; and          WHEREAS, The proposed Parental Rights Amendment to the   U.S. Constitution states that "[t]he liberty of parents to direct   the upbringing and education of their children is a fundamental   right," that "[n]either the United States nor any State shall   infringe upon this right without demonstrating that its   governmental interest as applied to the person is of the highest   order and not otherwise served," and that "[n]o treaty may be   adopted nor shall any source of international law be employed to   supersede, modify, interpret, or apply to the rights guaranteed by   this article"; and          WHEREAS, The Texas Legislature has affirmed the importance of   parental rights in such statutes as Section 40.002(b)(2), Human   Resources Code, which spells out the need for the Department of   Family and Protective Services to "respect the fundamental right of   parents to control the education and upbringing of their children,"   and Section 151.003, Family Code, which establishes the type of   standard that should be instituted at the federal level by   providing that "[a] state agency may not adopt rules or policies or   take any other action that violates the fundamental right and duty   of a parent to direct the upbringing of the parent's child"; and          WHEREAS, Explicitly enumerating the rights of parents in the   Constitution of the United States will protect these rights in   perpetuity from the shifting ideologies and interpretations of the   supreme court and from the threat of being placed under the   jurisdiction of the international community, thereby preserving   the cherished American tradition of entrusting parents to raise   their own children; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas   respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to propose and   submit to the states for ratification the Parental Rights Amendment   to the United States Constitution; and, be it further          RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official   copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to   the president of the Senate and speaker of the House of   Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the   members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that   this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a   memorial to the Congress of the United States of America.