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Legislation impacts schools
With the
2007 legislative session ended, schools are wondering how this
year’s legislation will impact daily operations. This story
summarizes many of the K-12 education-related bills that
survived this year’s session. For a summary of the education
funding package, click on the Hot Topic link to the right.
Please
note: An asterisk beside a bill number indicates that the
Governor has not signed the bill as of the time this
e-newsletter was published.
SB 199*
Compulsory attendance to age 18
Brought forward by the Governor, this bill
requires students to stay in school until they reach the age of
18 or they graduate. The requirement takes effect July 1, 2009.
Schools will need to consider options such as alternative
programs, career and technical education courses, and Virtual
High School offerings to assist students.
SB 1290
Indian education
This bill makes state government’s
commitment to Indian education permanent by putting it into law.
It formally establishes the Office of Indian Education within
the Department of Education and the Indian Education Advisory
Council. It codifies the requirement that teachers complete a
course in Indian Studies and establishes a pilot program in
Lakota language instruction.
HB 1291
Teacher Compensation Assistance Program
While this bill was tabled in the House,
its major concepts were folded into the final education funding
package. HB 1291, which called for the establishment of a
Teacher Compensation Assistance Program (TCAP), represented the
Governor’s interest in addressing teacher salaries.
SB 68
Revise use of the Institute Fund
The state’s teacher recruitment and
retention efforts will get a boost as a result of Senate Bill
68. Currently, the Institute Fund can only be used to develop
and publish bulletins, accreditation rules and similar
materials. With the change, the department can support key
recruitment and retention efforts such as the Governor’s New
Teacher Academy.
SB 87
School board representation
This bill eliminates the existing
requirement that the number of school board representation areas
is the same as the number of board members. Thus, it paves the
way for school board members to be elected through a combination
of representation areas and at large. This arrangement will be
especially beneficial to districts considering consolidation, as
a means to ensure equal representation.
SB 195
Admission fees used to support local
activities
This bill allows members of the High School
Activities Association to take any portion of the admission fees
gathered at a single event (one event per year, per activity)
and give it to a local group that supports interscholastic
activities (eg., booster club). The school board must approve,
in advance, how the local organization will use the funds. The
monies may be placed in an endowment fund.
HB 1033
The “cheating” bill
This bill outlines what happens when
cheating occurs on a state-required test. After an investigation
at the local level, the Secretary of Education determines
whether the incident was severe enough to affect test results.
(Note: A case in which one student writes the answers on his
shoe would be treated differently than a teacher providing a
class of 25 students with answers.) If cheating is determined to
be severe, a school may be denied adequate yearly
progress for that year. The bill also gives the secretary
authority to suspend or revoke the certificate of any certified
personnel who knowingly compromised the test.
HB 1035
Revise grade levels for state writing
assessment
The Department of Education continues to
study the best way to assess writing in South Dakota. House Bill
1035 provides some flexibility by removing the requirement to
test writing in specific grades (currently, grades 5 and 9).
However, it does not eliminate the requirement to test writing.
HB 1037
Eliminate requirement for certificate of
health
Under current law (13-43-3), all school
employees and student teachers are required to submit a
certificate of health within 10 days of employment. House Bill
1037 repeals this requirement. The bill does not limit a school
board’s ability to require an employee to submit to a physical
if it is deemed necessary.
HB 1113
Credit for distance courses
This bill requires school districts to use
the South Dakota Virtual High School for any distance courses.
Since the Department of Education approves all SDVHS providers
and courses, this ensures a measure of quality, consistency and
equity for students statewide. The bill provides some
exceptions. For example, if District A provides a course to
District B via a distance method, that arrangement would be
acceptable under the new law.
HB 1236
Paving the way for Iowa border agreement
House Bill 1236 allows the Department of
Education to enter into an agreement with the State of Iowa to
establish an open enrollment program. South Dakota already has
such an agreement with North Dakota. This bill simply gives the
department authority to begin discussions with Iowa.
HB 1266*
Partial enrollment for home school
students
Under this bill, school districts are
required to accept home school students who may attend less than
50 percent of the time (partially enrolled). The requirement
extends to the resident district as well as a nonresident
district. The bill does not impact a district’s decision
regarding home school students’ participation in extracurricular
activities.
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