TEXAS — Summer is always a challenging time for parents to find care for their children, especially since kids are out of school. Spectrum News is learning that new regulations on youth camps in Texas are requiring the camps to adhere to stricter regulations.
The new rules come after the July 4, 2025, floods that killed 28 people at a well-known girl’s summer camp, Camp Mystic in Kerr County. Most of the people who passed were young girls. The camp originally planned to reopen this summer but later withdrew its application for a summer 2026 camp license after facing backlash from families of the flood victims. Camp Mystic has since filed for bankruptcy.
The new rules camps have to follow have forced some to close or scale back operations because they cannot meet those new regulations, according to the latest data from the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).
One parent Spectrum News spoke with said she is worried there will continue to be fewer options for summer camps for her child in the future.
“I would definitely want him to have a place in the summer where I know that he would go and have fun, learn skills, make friends and be safe. So yeah, I would want to make sure that there’s options open for him to do so,” said Lauren McMahan, a Central Texas parent.
The latest roster posted by DSHS says there are 303 youth camps in the state right now. That’s 13 fewer than what was reported in May.
Spectrum News reached out to the state to get the number of youth camps that were in operation in 2025 for comparison. The agency has not yet responded.