{"data":{"id":"us-tx/tex.-health-and-safety-code-81.042","jurisdiction":"us-tx","citation":"Tex. Health and Safety Code § 81.042","heading":"PERSONS REQUIRED TO REPORT.","body":"(a) A report under Subsection (b), (c), or (d) shall be made to the local health authority.\n(b) A dentist or veterinarian licensed to practice in this state or a physician shall report, after the first professional encounter, a patient or animal examined that has or is suspected of having a reportable disease.\n(c) A local school authority shall report a child attending school who is suspected of having a reportable disease. The executive commissioner by rule shall establish procedures to determine if a child should be suspected and reported and to exclude the child from school pending appropriate medical diagnosis or recovery.\n(d) A person in charge of a clinical or hospital laboratory, blood bank, mobile unit, or other facility in which a laboratory examination of a specimen derived from a human body yields microscopical, cultural, serological, or other evidence of a reportable disease shall report the findings, in accordance with this section and procedures adopted by the executive commissioner, in the jurisdiction in which:\n(1) the physician's office is located, if the laboratory examination was requested by a physician; or\n(2) the laboratory is located, if the laboratory examination was not requested by a physician.\n(e) The following persons shall report to the local health authority or the department a suspected case of a reportable disease and all information known concerning the person who has or is suspected of having the disease if a report is not made as required by Subsections (a)-(d):\n(1) a professional registered nurse;\n(2) an administrator or director of a public or private temporary or permanent child-care facility;\n(3) an administrator or director of a nursing home, personal care home, adult respite care center, or day activity and health services facility;\n(4) an administrator of a home health agency;\n(5) an administrator or health official of a public or private institution of higher education;\n(6) an owner or manager of a restaurant, dairy, or other food handling or processing establishment or outlet;\n(7) a superintendent, manager, or health official of a public or private camp, home, or institution;\n(8) a parent, guardian, or householder;\n(9) a health professional;\n(10) an administrator or health official of a penal or correctional institution; or\n(11) emergency medical service personnel, a peace officer, or a firefighter.\nActs 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 198, Sec. 2.171, eff. Sept. 1, 2003; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1312, Sec. 7, eff. June 21, 2003.\nAmended by:\nActs 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1082 (S.B. 1178), Sec. 14, eff. September 1, 2012.\nActs 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1 (S.B. 219), Sec. 3.0224, eff. April 2, 2015.\nActs 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1231 (S.B. 1999), Sec. 2, eff. June 19, 2015.","path":["HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE","TITLE 2. HEALTH","SUBTITLE D. PREVENTION, CONTROL, AND REPORTS OF DISEASES; PUBLIC HEALTH DISASTERS AND EMERGENCIES","CHAPTER 81. COMMUNICABLE DISEASES; PUBLIC HEALTH DISASTERS; PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCIES","SUBCHAPTER C. REPORTS AND REPORTABLE DISEASES"],"source_url":"https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/HS/htm/HS.81.htm#81.042","current_through":"89th 2nd Called Legislative Session, 2025","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-08-27T01:47:17Z","sha256":"a273a902bb6ff1183e0189a51f6df54bd02921c6fe1d346c26b6d667ec0e95a6","source_id":"us-tx","stale":false,"prev":"us-tx/tex.-health-and-safety-code-81.041","next":"us-tx/tex.-health-and-safety-code-81.043"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}