Texas to return sect children starting Monday

MICHELLE ROBERTS

The Associated Press

May 30, 2008 at 4:08 PM EDT

SAN ANGELO, Texas — Texas authorities and a polygamist sect have reached a tentative agreement to begin returning children taken by the state starting Monday.

A draft agreement has been released in court by Texas Child Protective Services lawyer Gary Banks.

It says the parents can get their children back after showing identifications and pledging to take parenting classes and remain in Texas.

The agreement was reached with the 38 mothers of the 124 children who filed the complaint.

Their complaint prompted the Texas Supreme Court to rule on Thursday that the state overstepped its authority in taking more than 400 children.

But the deal affects nearly all the children since they were removed under identical circumstances.

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