Texas sues Abilene man for 'unlicensed daycare,' while he claims religious exemption from laws

TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas (KXAN) — The Texas Health and Human Services Commission, or TXHHS, has sued an Abilene man for running an unlicensed and uninspected childcare facility, as well as transporting children in an unregistered van without a driver's license, according to a lawsuit filed in Travis County District Court on June 27.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's Office, or OAG, represents HHSC in the case.

KXAN asked the defendant, Steve Van Horne, for his response to the lawsuit. We'll update this story if we receive one.

Van Horne's business, named in the lawsuit as "Society of Light," operates what HHSC calls an unlicensed childcare facility in Abilene, Texas. HHSC's website has a tool to check if a childcare facility is licensed -- Society of Light did not show up in its search results.

Unlicensed daycare, or religious entity?

"On August 13, 2024, the Defendant notified the Commission in writing that he was going to voluntarily relinquish his license and would no longer comply with the law," the lawsuit states.

HHSC said in the lawsuit that it had asked the business for clarification.

In response, a Society of Light employee told the agency that the business would continue to provide childcare and "not submit to regulation by the Commission," according to the lawsuit.

"Previously, there was a childcare operation at the building. It ended several months back and the HHSC has assumed that because a few children stay at our building during the day that we are running an illegal childcare operation," wrote Van Horne in January 2025.

A copy of that letter was included in the lawsuit, along with additional correspondence between HHSC and the Society of Light. In those letters, the Society of Light states that they are not a daycare, but a "religious entity set up under pure trust." They also cite the US and Texas Constitutions, US Supreme Court dissents and the Christian Bible as reasons why it is exempt from the "processes of the secular political state."

"We, due to matters of conscience, are prohibited from accepting any entitlements, privileges, or benefits which would cause us to act against the commandments of our Creator," reads Van Horne's January letter. "Accordingly, he must remain separate, unincorporated, unsponsored, and free from the fetters of civil society ... we are 100% separate and exempt from the jurisdiction of the state in matters of conscience."

In Texas, a religious organization's childcare facilities are exempt from licensure if they watch kids only during on-site religious services attended by the children's guardians.

Lawsuit describes attempted inspections

According to the lawsuit, HHSC's Child Care Regulation Division attempted to inspect the facility more than a dozen times between August 23, 2024 and April 2025.

However, state inspectors were not allowed to enter the building, nor were staff permitted to speak with them, according to the lawsuit. Instead, workers at the facility would find Van Horne, who spoke with inspectors.

"When interviewed about the facility, Defendant claimed that he was not providing 'child-care.' Instead, he was merely 'provid[ing] child and developmental skills' for the children present," the lawsuit states.

An affidavit from the HHSC manager in charge of those inspections was also included in the lawsuit. She describes multiple attempts and surveillance, noting how many children were brought to the facility. At times, this was as low as five and as many as 49.

Most of the inspection attempts resulted in citations of illegal operation-not licensed, and responsibilities-not interfering with an investigation.

HHSC also said it learned on April 14 that Van Horne had been arrested for driving without a valid license and displaying a fictitious license plate.

In-Depth: Tax filings

Van Horne's answer to HHSC is similar to his repeated statements in tax filings for Abilene-based nonprofit "Loving Individuals Generating Healing Today," which abbreviates to LIGHT. An exhibit in the lawsuit carries LIGHT's header.

All nonprofits and charities are required to file a Form 990 annually with the Internal Revenue Service, or IRS. In those forms, a nonprofit shows its finances and explains why it should be exempt from taxes. These forms are a part of public record; however, the IRS' Tax Exempt Organization Search did not give results for the Society of Light.

It did show filings submitted by LIGHT from 2015-2020, which Van Horne signed between 2018-2020. The group declared it was a tax-exempt school that "provid[ed] development and educational services for children and families."

No 990 filings were filed for LIGHT since 2020.

Van Horne described the Society of Light as a "pure trust." According to the IRS, pure trusts run the risk of being viewed as "common abusive domestic trust schemes." The IRS does not provide copies of trusts' tax filings.

"It gives the appearance that the taxpayer has given up control of his or her business," the IRS' website states. "In reality, through trustees or other entities controlled by the taxpayer, he or she still runs the day-to-day activities and controls the business's income stream."