On May 26, 2020, the Texas Supreme Court issued a Seventeenth Emergency Order in which it renewed provision (6.) from its Twelfth Emergency Order relating to possession and access to children under current court orders.
This current emergency order renews its order such that the original published school district’s schedule shall control for all periods of possession of and access to a child. As such, for persons under a current court-ordered possession schedule, periods of possession shall be according to the school district’s originally published school calendar, not any changes to the calendar as a result of the pandemic. Please be reminded that parties can, and are encouraged, to work together to mutually agree to any changes to their originally prescheduled planned summer possession schedules with children for the summer of 2020, as may be necessary for parents’ employment requirements and/or accommodations and for the best interest of the children (as allowed by the terms of their current court orders):
“In determining a person’s right to possession of and access to a child under a court-ordered possession schedule in a Suit Affecting the Parent-Child Relationship, the existing trial court order shall control in all instances. Possession of and access to a child shall not be affected by any shelter-in-place order or other order restricting movement issued by a governmental entity that arises from the pandemic. The originally published school schedule shall also control, and possession and access shall not be affected by the school’s closure that arises from the pandemic. Nothing herein prevents parties from altering a possession schedule by an agreement if allowed by their court order(s), or courts from modifying their orders on an emergency basis or otherwise.”
