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Education
dominates 2006 Legislature
As always,
issues related to education played a major role in the
legislative session. The 2006 Legislature ended with a flurry of
activity in the final days. Below is a brief overview of the
highlights.
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Gov. Mike
Rounds initially proposed a 3 percent increase in state aid
for fiscal year 2007, which translates to an
additional $127.13 per student. Lawmakers added an
additional $54 per student in one-time money.
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Lawmakers
set aside an amount of $1.5 million for sparse school
districts.
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The
governor’s proposal to provide one-time energy relief to
schools passed in the form of Senate Bill 202. It
appropriates $2.3 million for this purpose.
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Two major
pieces of the 2010 Education Initiative – virtual school and
mandatory kindergarten – will become law.
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The
virtual school bill (House Bill 1236 described below) allows
the department and Board of Education to ensure consistency,
quality and accessibility in virtual school offerings across
South Dakota.
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Mandatory
kindergarten (House Bill 1175 described below) met some
opposition from lawmakers but, ultimately, survived with a
flourish. Providing a strong start for South Dakota’s youngest students is essential to their future academic success.
Mandatory kindergarten becomes effective in 2010.
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Classroom
Connections, the laptop initiative under the 2010 Education
plan, will proceed as a pilot project in 2006-07. The goal
is to have 5,000 to 10,000 students participate in the
project’s first year.
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A bill to
require students to attend high school until age 18 did not
make it through the legislative process. The department
hopes to bring this issue back again next year, as it is a
key component of the 2010E plan.
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Several
bills related to sexuality education in schools did not
survive. House Bill 1217 addressed instruction of sexual
abstinence in schools. Senate Bill 196 required balanced
instruction on human sexuality. And, House Bill 1194 sought
to prohibit the distribution of contraceptives to public
school students and to prohibit school employees from
referring students to abortion or family planning services.
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The
general funding bill for state government (Senate Bill 209)
included several amendments that impacted education. One
amendment (209zb) eliminated $3.5 million for the Governor’s
proposed teacher compensation assistance program. Another
amendment (209zi) provided an additional nonrecurring
$800,000 for postsecondary technical institutes. And 209ze
transferred $3.8 million in E-rate and Wiring the Schools
revenue from the Department of Education to the general fund
to balance the budget.
A list of major education bills from the 2006 legislative session
appears to the right. Click on the bill for a brief description. To review a complete bill, go to
http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2006/index.aspx, type in
the bill number and click “Get Bill.”
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