Six Kerr County summer camps have active licenses as state process crawls forward

Six Kerr County summer camps have received active youth camp licenses under the new state system created after the July 4, 2025 flood, while seven more in the county remain in an application-pending limbo — a snapshot of a licensing process that has moved slowly across Texas with summer fast approaching.

A state roster of licensed youth camps dated May 15 shows 316 camps appearing in the system statewide. Of those, just 47 — roughly 15% — hold active “Current” licenses. Another 212 have applications pending, and 57 have no application on file at all.

In Kerr County, the six camps that have cleared the licensing process are Camp Stewart for Boys and Camp Waldemar in Hunt, Camp Rio Vista in Ingram, Kickapoo Kamp and Hermann Sons Life in the Comfort area, and Camp Honey Creek in Hunt. All six hold licenses valid through early to mid-2027.

Seven more Kerr County camps are waiting on DSHS to act on their applications: Texas Lions Camp and Camp Chrysalis in Kerrville, Mo-Ranch Assembly, Camp La Junta, U Bar U Camp and Retreat Center and Christian Outdoor Alliance in Mountain Home, and Camp Camp in Center Point. Summer Music Camp for Teens in Kerrville has no application on file. Heart of the Hills camp for girls is not listed in the state’s report.

The new licensing system was created by the Texas Legislature in the wake of the flood, which killed 119 people across Kerr County. Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 141, as amended, now requires youth camps to apply for new licenses and meet updated safety standards, including a controversial requirement that camps maintain redundant internet connectivity through fiber optic facilities.

That fiber-optic mandate has sparked its own legal battle. A group of roughly 20 camps, including several with Texas Hill Country ties, sued DSHS and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission in Travis County’s 126th District Court in a case styled Tejas Ministries et al. v. Shuford et al. The camps argued that fiber optic internet is physically impossible to obtain at many rural camp locations.

The parties reached a Rule 11 agreement signed May 7 that effectively puts the fiber optic fight on hold. Under the agreement, DSHS agreed it will not deny or suspend a license solely for a camp’s failure to have fiber optic connectivity, as long as the camp uses an equivalent alternative — such as cellular, microwave, or satellite internet — that it determines in good faith is equally or more resilient. The stay runs through March 1, 2027, or until the 90th Texas Legislature acts on the requirement, whichever comes first.

DSHS Commissioner Jennifer Shuford’s office signed the agreement on May 7. A representative of the plaintiff camps also signed that day.

The slow pace of licensing has been a persistent concern since the new system launched. Many camps whose applications have been pending since March have expiration dates that have already passed, meaning they are operating in a legal gray area while DSHS works through its backlog — a situation the Legislature’s post-flood General Investigating Committee has scrutinized in hearings this spring.