Texas SB 515 (2023): Severity Codes, Notice and Removal for the CPS Central Registry (Did Not Pass)

This bill is not law. It did not pass. It passed the Texas Senate, but its last official action was "Placed on General State Calendar" in the Texas House on May 23, 2023 Texas Legislature Online, History for 88(R) SB 515.

The short answer

SB 515 would have changed how names go on and come off the central child abuse and neglect registry. DFPS would have rated each substantiated finding with a severity code, kept "low" cases off the registry, set time limits for listings, given written notice before listing, and set up panels to hear requests to remove names. It passed the Senate and a House committee, but the full House never voted on it, so it died when the 2023 session ended Legislative Reference Library of Texas, What's Next? Post-Session FAQ, 89th R.S..

How far it got

• Filed: January 20, 2023.
• Senate: The Senate Health and Human Services Committee approved a substitute on April 11, 2023. The full Senate passed the bill on April 19, 2023.
• House committee: It went to the House Human Services Committee on April 28, 2023, which approved it without changes on May 16, 2023.
• Stopped: It was placed on the House General State Calendar on May 23, 2023. The official history shows no House vote after that.

What it would have changed

These points come from the House committee's analysis of the version it approved House Committee on Human Services, Bill Analysis, S.B. 515 (88R), Committee Report.

Severity codes. DFPS would have given each substantiated finding of abuse or neglect a severity code. The lowest, "low," was for an isolated incident with a threat of harm but no injury, caused by an accident or a parent's mistake, with no ongoing risk.

Who stays on the registry, and for how long. People whose case was coded "low" would have been kept off the registry. Others would have stayed listed until a set date:

Severity code	Listed until
Moderate	5th anniversary of the finding
Serious	15th anniversary
Severe	30th anniversary (15th if the court returned the child home within the time set for a final order)
Near fatal or fatal	99th anniversary

If a judge at the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) upheld the finding, the listing would have lasted at least until the 20th anniversary, or longer if the severity code set a later date. DFPS could not have kept a name listed after it disposed of the related case records.

Notice before listing. DFPS would have had to give a person written notice before adding their name. The notice had to explain what the registry is and the consequences of being listed.

Young people. DFPS would have had to remove the name of a person found to have abused or neglected a child while under 18, once two years had passed and other conditions were met.

Expungement review panels. DFPS would have set up panels of DFPS employees and a member of the public to hear requests to remove names. Under the bill:

• a request could not be made until three years after DFPS's most recent finding;
• a person was not eligible if, among other reasons, the incident caused a child's death or near death, or a court ended parental rights because of it;
• the panel had to hold a hearing within 60 days of the request, unless it had good cause;
• the person asking carried the burden and could offer evidence such as completed treatment or letters of support;
• the panel had to give a written decision with reasons within 45 days of the hearing, and DFPS had to remove a name within 10 business days of a decision to remove it; and
• a person could have no more than four review hearings in all.

These removal rules would not have applied to cases in state-regulated child-care facilities or family homes, or to school investigations.

Which laws it affects

• Texas Family Code chapter 261 (investigations and the central registry). The bill would have amended the Family Code's provisions on investigations and on adding names to and removing names from the central registry House Committee on Human Services, Bill Analysis, S.B. 515 (88R), Committee Report. None of these changes took effect through this bill.
• What the law offers now. If you dispute DFPS's finding after an investigation, current law lets you request an administrative review of the findings Tex. Fam. Code §261.309(c).

Related

• CPS Investigation Findings in Texas: Reason to Believe, Ruled Out and More
• How to Ask for an ARIF (Administrative Review of CPS Findings) in Texas
• How to Get Your CPS Case Records in Texas
• Texas HB 2849 (2017): Removing Names From the CPS Central Registry
• Texas HB 1190 (2021): A Court Finding Before the CPS Central Registry (Did Not Pass)
• Texas HB 2070 (2025): A Court Finding Before Most CPS Central Registry Listings (Did Not Pass)
• The 2027 Texas Legislature (90th): When CPS Bills Can Be Filed