Resolution Supporting a Presumption of Equal Parenting WHEREAS family is fundamental and essential to the preservation of American society; and

WHEREAS over 30% of Texas children reside in single-parent households1 and for young people, growing up without their own married parents is linked with lower college attendance rates and acceptance at less selective institutions2; and WHEREAS it is the public policy of the state of Texas to assure that children will have frequent and continuing contact with parents who have shown the ability to act in the best interest of the child; and WHEREAS it is the public policy of the state of Texas to encourage parents to share in the rights and duties of raising their child after the parents have separated or dissolved their marriage; and WHEREAS at equal parenting time, the quality of the parent-child relationship is at its highest3, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Texas Democratic Party supports the passage of legislation requiring a presumption of equal parenting. Submitted to and Adopted by Texas Democratic Party, Senatorial District 1, Smith County, Texas, on April 21, 2012. _________________________________ Convention Secretary

U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, 2005-2009 5-year estimates (www.census.gov). Schneider, B., Atteberry, A., & Owens, A., (2005), Family Structure and Children's Educational Outcomes. Research Brief No. 1. Retrieved from http://www.americanvalues.org/briefs/No1_Nov05.pdf 3 Fabricius, William A. "The Bad News about Divorce and Children Is Worse than We Thought, but the Good News Is Better than We Thought." 6 May 2011. https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/r-ferrer/VisitationSchedule/NCP_Engagement/Fabricius_Ann_Cools_Paper.pdf. Web. 21 April 2012.
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