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EXPLANATION-Matter enclosed in bold-faced brackets [thus] in this bill is not enacted
and is intended to be omitted in the law.
SECOND REGULAR SESSION
SENATE BILL NO. 948
103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR BRATTIN.
5621S.01I KRISTINA MARTIN, Secretary
AN ACT
To repeal section 431.061, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof three new sections relating to
parental rights.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 431.061, RSMo, is repealed and three 1
new sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as sections 2
1.340, 1.341, and 431.061, to read as follows:3
1.340. 1. A parent has a fundamental liberty and 1
fundamental interest in the care, custody, and control of 2
such parent's child, including the right to direct the 3
upbringing, education, health care, and mental health of the 4
child free from government interference. 5
2. A governmental authority shall not restrict the 6
fundamental right of a parent to direct the upbringing, 7
education, health care, and mental health of that parent's 8
child, unless the governmental authority demonstrates that 9
application of the restriction to the parent and the child 10
is essential to further a compelling governmental interest 11
and is the least restrictive means of furthering that 12
compelling governmental interest. 13
3. As used in this section, "parent" means a natural 14
parent, a parent by adoption, or an individual who been 15
granted exclusive right and authority over the welfare of a 16
child under state law. 17
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4. As used in this section, "child" means any 18
unemancipated person who has not attained the age of 19
eighteen years. 20
5. This section applies to all state and local laws, 21
resolutions, and ordinances and to the implementation of 22
such laws, resolutions, and ordinances, whether statutory or 23
otherwise, and whether adopted before or after August 28, 24
2026. 25
6. Nothing in this section or section 1.341 shall be 26
construed as allowing any person to cause physical injury to 27
another person, to possess a weapon otherwise prohibited by 28
law, to fail to provide monetary support for a child, or to 29
fail to provide health care for a child suffering from a 30
life-threatening condition. 31
1.341. 1. All parental rights are exclusively 1
reserved to a parent of a child without obstruction by or 2
interference from this state, any political subdivision of 3
this state, any other governmental entity, or any other 4
institution, including without limitation, the following 5
rights and responsibilities: 6
(1) To direct the education of the child, including 7
the right to choose a public school, private school, 8
parochial school, parish school, home school, or family- 9
paced education school, and the right to make reasonable 10
choices within public schools for the education of the child; 11
(2) To access and review all written and electronic 12
educational records relating to the child that are 13
controlled by or in the possession of a school; 14
(3) To direct the upbringing of the child; 15
(4) To direct the moral or religious training of the 16
child; 17
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(5) To make and consent in writing to all physical and 18
mental health care decisions for the child; 19
(6) To access and review all health and medical 20
records of the child; 21
(7) To consent in writing before a biometric scan of 22
the child is made, shared, or stored; 23
(8) To consent in writing before any record of the 24
child's blood or deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) is created, 25
stored, or shared, unless authorized pursuant to a court 26
order; 27
(9) To consent in writing before any governmental 28
authority makes a video or voice recording of the child, 29
unless the video or voice recording is made during or as a 30
part of: 31
(a) A court proceeding; 32
(b) A law enforcement investigation; 33
(c) A forensic interview in a criminal or department 34
of social services investigation; 35
(d) The security or surveillance of buildings or 36
grounds; or 37
(e) A photo identification card; 38
(10) To be notified promptly if any governmental 39
authority suspects that abuse, neglect, or any criminal 40
offense has been committed against the child, unless the 41
governmental authority reasonably believes that notifying 42
the parent is likely to endanger the life or physical safety 43
of the child; 44
(11) To opt the child out of any personal analysis, 45
evaluation, survey, or data collection by a school district 46
that would capture data for inclusion in the statewide 47
longitudinal student data system except what is necessary 48
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and essential for establishing a student's educational 49
record; 50
(12) The right to have the child excused from school 51
attendance for religious purposes; and 52
(13) The right to participate in parent-teacher 53
organizations and other school organizations that are 54
sanctioned by the board of education of a school district. 55
2. Except for law enforcement personnel, a 56
governmental authority shall not encourage or coerce a child 57
to withhold information from the child's parent; nor shall a 58
governmental authority withhold from a child's parent 59
information that is relevant to the physical, emotional, or 60
mental health of the child. 61
3. A parent who believes his or her rights have been 62
violated under this section or section 1.340 may assert that 63
violation as a claim or defense in a judicial or 64
administrative proceeding, regardless of whether the 65
government is a party to the proceeding, and obtain 66
appropriate relief against the government, including 67
declaratory relief, injunctive relief, compensatory damages, 68
and reasonable attorney's fees and costs. 69
431.061. 1. In addition to such other persons as may 1
be so authorized and empowered, any one of the following 2
persons if otherwise competent to contract, is authorized 3
and empowered to consent, either orally or otherwise, to any 4
surgical, medical, or other treatment or procedures, 5
including immunizations, not prohibited by law: 6
(1) Any adult eighteen years of age or older for 7
himself; 8
(2) Any parent for his minor child in his legal 9
custody; 10
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(3) Any minor who has been lawfully married and any 11
minor parent or legal custodian of a child for himself, his 12
child and any child in his legal custody; 13
(4) Any minor for [himself] herself in case of[: 14
(a) Pregnancy, but excluding abortions; 15
(b) Venereal disease; 16
(c) Drug or substance abuse including those referred 17
to in chapter 195] pregnancy, but excluding abortions; 18
(5) Any adult standing in loco parentis, whether 19
serving formally or not, for his minor charge in case of 20
emergency as defined in section 431.063; 21
(6) Any guardian of the person for his ward; 22
(7) Any relative caregiver of a minor child as 23
provided for under section 431.058. 24
2. The provisions of sections 431.061 and 431.063 25
shall be liberally construed, and all relationships set 26
forth in subsection 1 of this section shall include the 27
adoptive and step-relationship as well as the natural 28
relationship and the relationship by the half blood as well 29
as by the whole blood. 30
3. A consent by one person so authorized and empowered 31
shall be sufficient notwithstanding that there are other 32
persons so authorized and empowered or that such other 33
persons shall refuse or decline to consent or shall protest 34
against the proposed surgical, medical or other treatment or 35
procedures. 36
4. Any person acting in good faith and not having been 37
put on notice to the contrary shall be justified in relying 38
on the representations of any person purporting to give such 39
consent, including, but not limited to, his identity, his 40
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age, his marital status, and his relationship to any other 41
person for whom the consent is purportedly given. 42
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