On Tuesday, nearly 70% of Texas voters approved Proposition 15, a state constitutional amendment granting parents the right “to exercise care, custody, and control” of decisions concerning their own kids’ upbringing.

Though the proposition passed, critics call the new amendment’s language “vague” and worry that it could actually erode parental rights or even forbid the state from intervening in cases of child abuse.

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The ballot measure’s lead sponsor, Republican state Sen. Bryan Hughes, said the amendment is necessary because of changing judicial standards.

“[Even though] over the last 100 years, federal case law has outlined specific areas in which parents have a constitutionally protected right to make decisions for their children,” he said, “Rights found in case law can change and disappear over time with the appointment of new judges.”

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“Placing the rights of parents in the Texas constitution would ensure the longevity of these rights for future generations,” he said, according to The Center Square

The Parental Rights Foundation and the Texas Home School Coalition both supported Proposition 15. These “parents’ rights” organizations echo right-wing rhetoric about how parents should have the right to prevent their children from being exposed to “controversial topics” and instead learn “pro-family” values, respectively. Often, these rhetorical terms refer to any LGBTQ+-inclusive curriculum or policies that anti-LGBTQ+ parents may object to.

However, the conservative group Accountability Matters said the new amendment’s “vague and broad” language could open it to “misinterpretation and misuse.”

Accountability Matters says that the amendment’s phrases about “care, custody and control” and “decisions concerning the child’s upbringing” create “ambiguity that courts or state agencies could exploit.” For example, the amendment’s mention about protecting a child’s “upbringing” could “favor specific cultural or ideological norms” of “acceptable parenting,” child rearing, and child well-being that could result in state government agents “restricting parents who make unconventional choices,” thereby undermining parental rights that already exist in federal and state laws, the group said.

“[The amendment] risks undermining parental liberty by introducing ambiguous terms that would invite state overreach, ideological bias, and unnecessary litigation,” the group said in a statement.

San Antonio Express-News opposed the new amendment, calling it “performative” and noting that “there’s no threat” to existing parental rights in the state.

“If passed, this proposition will do nothing to enhance parental rights, and it fails to acknowledge that children also have rights,” the publication wrote. “Its wording is so vague that it could mean that in suspected cases of abuse or neglect, the parent’s rights would supersede the state’s right to intervene to protect the child.”

“This proposition is unnecessary and written in language that lacks clarity, fails to make exceptions, and has the potential for unintended consequences that could be harmful to children,” the publication added.

While the Parental Rights Foundation asserts that “Short of actual physical harm by abuse or neglect, it is the parent’s role ‘to make decisions concerning the child’s upbringing,’” the amendment contains no limits that would prevent a judge from using it to allow abuse or neglect.

In fact, Texas’ own Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) have muddied the concept by claiming that gender-affirming care (GAC) for trans children is a form of child abuse. State child protective service workers have said that Abbott and Paxton’s crusade against GAC has interfered with their ability to help victims of actual abuse by causing unethical secrecy, intradepartmental strife, and staff resignations.

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