Rosi Paredes spent almost a decade running a home daycare in Minnesota before moving to Texas in 2024 to be closer to her daughter and for health reasons. She got the state's blessing to open a small daycare for up to six children in Venus, cleared it with her homeowners association, and figured she was ready to get back to work. Instead, the city told her opening her doors could cost her up to $2,000 a day and a misdemeanor charge.
Paredes filed a lawsuit against the city of Venus in Johnson County District Court, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. She's represented by the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit law firm that describes itself as focused on fighting government overreach, according to the Institute for Justice. The organization says Texas inspected, tested and registered Paredes to run a daycare for no more than six children, and that she made sure her homeowners association was on board before trying to open.
A Ban That Only Targets Daycares
According to the Institute for Justice, Venus bans home daycares entirely, no matter how small, even though the city allows other home-based businesses to operate. The group says Venus permits residents to give music lessons or tutor students out of their homes, but won't extend the same courtesy to childcare providers. IJ attorney James Odell called that distinction a double standard, per the Star-Telegram.
Odell said city officials have linked the daycare ban to concerns about street parking, the Star-Telegram reports. But the same report notes that Odell and Paredes argue Venus's own rules allow other home businesses that generate street parking, just not when that business happens to be a daycare. The city did not immediately respond to a request for comment, according to the Star-Telegram.
Fines Up to $2,000 a Day
City officials warned Paredes that opening her childcare program could bring fines of up to $2,000 per day along with a misdemeanor charge, the Star-Telegram reports. Paredes and her legal team argue the ban violates a Texas law protecting no-impact, home-based businesses from being shut down by local governments. The Institute for Justice says that law stems from a bill the Texas Governor signed in September 2025.
Odell said Paredes followed the law and wants Venus to follow it too, not just for her but for other Texans and Americans seeking childcare work, according to the Star-Telegram. Paredes said she dreams of continuing to work with children, the paper reports. Her case team includes IJ attorneys Odell, Marco Vasquez Jr. and Jessica Bigbie, per the Institute for Justice.
What Paredes Is Asking the Court For
Paredes has requested a temporary injunction to stop the city from enforcing the ban until after trial, along with a permanent injunction and a bench trial, according to the Star-Telegram. The Institute for Justice points to a similar fight in Lakeway, Texas, where the group says it helped provider Bianca King keep her daycare open after she was initially denied a permit.
Texas allows registered home providers to care for up to six unrelated children 13 or younger during school hours, with additional school-age children permitted after school as long as no more than 12 children are in care at once, according to Texas Health and Human Services guidance. For now, whether Paredes can open her own six-child daycare in Venus rests with the Johnson County court.
