{"id":244353,"date":"2026-04-10T23:56:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T23:56:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/244353\/"},"modified":"2026-04-10T23:56:07","modified_gmt":"2026-04-10T23:56:07","slug":"texas-camps-at-risk-over-multi-million-dollar-internet-mandate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/244353\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas camps at risk over multi-million dollar internet mandate"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO \u2014 More than a dozen youth camps are pushing back<\/a> against a new state requirement set to take effect this summer, arguing it could cost millions and force some to shut down.<\/p>\n

The rule, part of a sweeping camp safety law passed after deadly flooding in the Hill Country, requires camps to install high-speed fiber optic internet.<\/p>\n

Camp operators say most of the new safety measures are justified, but not the broadband mandate. <\/p>\n

Nineteen camps have now filed a lawsuit<\/a> against the Department of State Health Services, which is the agency that issues youth camp licenses, calling the requirement \u201ccompletely unreasonable,\u201d \u201cunconstitutional,\u201d and arguing it does not make campers or staff safer.<\/p>\n

State Rep. Wes Virdell says some camps, especially in rural areas, could struggle to stay open.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that there are a lot of camps that are very possibly going out of business that have been there for decades,\u201d Virdell said.<\/p>\n

The original goal for that part of the legislation was to improve communication during emergencies, including natural disasters. The Fiber Broadband Association has said reliable broadband systems are critical in those situations.<\/p>\n

But Virdell says the cost could be out of reach for many camps.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually, the number is $2 million, up to $3.7 million is what I\u2019ve heard for getting fiber optic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Camp leaders raised concerns about the requirement during hearings last year, saying it may be unrealistic for rural facilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis requirement sounds simple on paper, but in reality, it\u2019s impossible for many rural camps,\u201d Riley Watkins, the camp director and manager of Camp Oak Haven, told leaders during a state health department meeting in October 2025. \u201cThe cost of bringing it in would be more than the camp\u2019s annual budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

If camps fail to comply, they risk losing their licenses.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey will have their license pulled from them and not be allowed to have camp anymore,\u201d Virdell said. He says the safety of children is of the utmost importance, but the government overreaches in this requirement.<\/p>\n

Right now, the state is not offering exemptions or financial assistance for camps that cannot afford the upgrades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2014 More than a dozen youth camps are pushing back against a new state requirement set…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":244354,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[27,29,28],"class_list":["post-244353","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-texas","tag-texas","tag-texas-headlines","tag-texas-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244353","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/244354"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}