\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFollowing pressure from summer camp operators, lawmakers and legislative leaders, Texas is suspending a requirement that all camps install \u201cend-to-end\u201d fiber-optic internet infrastructure before opening this summer.<\/p>\n
What you need to know<\/p>\n
After catastrophic flooding in Central Texas killed more than 130 people\u2014including 28 deaths at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian camp\u2014last July, state lawmakers passed a pair of laws<\/a> designed to strengthen safety and emergency preparedness requirements for all Texas summer camps.<\/p>\n The camp safety laws, House Bill 1<\/a> and Senate Bill 1<\/a>, require camp operators to develop and annually update comprehensive emergency plans; set up warning systems to notify campers if something is wrong; and install two types of broadband internet, including a fiber-optic system. Some camps have contested the fiber-optic requirement, arguing it would be \u201cimpossible\u201d to get the service in rural and remote areas of the state.<\/p>\n Nineteen camp operators sued the state<\/a> over that rule in April, although they did not contest other safety requirements. The Texas Department of State Health Services, which inspects and licenses youth camps<\/a>, said it reached an agreement May 7 with the 19 camps.<\/p>\n \u201cThis agreement will ensure that youth camps in Texas operate with the safety provisions envisioned by the Legislature while allowing camps and families to move forward with their summer plans,\u201d DSHS Commissioner Jennifer Shuford said in a statement.<\/p>\n Under the agreement<\/a>, Texas camps that maintain \u201credundant\u201d broadband internet services will not have their license revoked or denied as long as they meet all other safety requirements, the DSHS said in a May 7 news release<\/a>. Redundant internet infrastructure includes \u201ccellular, microwave or satellite\u201d broadband technology, the agency said.<\/p>\n As of May 8, DSHS records<\/a> show that:<\/p>\n 18 camps are licensed through early 2027 and approved to operate this summer70 camps have licenses expiring sometime this summer239 camps are seeking to renew their licenses this summer and have pending applicationsUnder state law, any camp with a pending application will not see their license expire as they go through the renewal process, DSHS officials told state lawmakers during an April 30 hearing<\/a>.<\/p>\n More details<\/p>\n The May 7 agreement between the state health department and camp operators pauses the lawsuit and court case until March 1, 2027. Lawmakers have said they will take another look at camp safety standards during next year\u2019s state legislative session, which begins in January.<\/p>\n \u201c[We] recognize that there may be means other than fiber to provide reliable redundant internet access, which would satisfy the purpose and spirit of the law,\u201d Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said in a May 5 joint statement<\/a>. \u201cThe upcoming 90th Legislative Session will provide an opportunity to further strengthen camp safety standards while ensuring camps operating in good faith under these new requirements can continue to serve Texas children and families.\u201d<\/p>\n Ed Walker, president of the Texas Christian Camp and Conference Association<\/a> and director of Mt. Lebanon Camp<\/a> in Cedar Hill, called the agreement a \u201chappy victory\u201d but said \u201cmuch damage [was] already done\u201d by the fiber-optic rule.<\/p>\n \u201cMillions spent by camps to get it & long, very expensive contracts,\u201d Walker said in a May 7 post on X<\/a>, adding that legislators had \u201ca lot left to fix\u201d with the camp safety laws.<\/p>\n Some context<\/p>\n In an April 7 lawsuit, 19 camp operators from across Texas said installing fiber-optic internet infrastructure was \u201cso costly as to make it economically infeasible or unreasonably burdensome,\u201d which they said could prevent camps from opening. The camps wrote that fiber-optic services are \u201cnot available at all\u201d in some remote areas, noting that Texas\u2019 camp safety laws do not include exceptions for rural camps.<\/p>\n According to the lawsuit, Camp Longhorn<\/a>, which has three locations in Burnet, received a quote of more than $1.2 million to install fiber-optic internet at two of its camps. In East Texas, Camp Liberty<\/a> received multiple quotes, ranging from $43,200 to over $1 million.<\/p>\n