Legislative pieces related to juvenile justice continue to make their way through the 2023 legislative session with multiple proposals being tracked by ASBSD on our Billtracker page.
You can read about the taxation bills & revenue here, the school voucher bills here, the bills that are moving on here and the bills that have been defeated here.
Senate Bill 3: Requires law enforcement to report juvenile offenses to school officials. ASBSD is monitoring the bill, which passed the Senate Education committee on a 4-2 vote and the Senate on an 18-16 vote. The bill has been assigned to the House Judiciary committee.
Senate Bill 4: Modifies a court’s authority to commit a habitual juvenile offender to the Department of Corrections. ASBSD supports the bill, which passed the Senate Judiciary committee on a 7-0 vote and the Senate on an 29-6 vote.
The amended version of the bill, which permits a court to remit a juvenile offender to the Department of Corrections if the child has been previously adjudicated delinquent for a separate delinquent act, arising out of a separate and distinct criminal episode within the preceding twelve-month period, has been assigned to the House Judiciary committee.
Senate Bill 5: Extends the Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee to 2031 and adds two school representatives to the council membership. ASBSD supports the bill, which passed the Senate Judiciary committee on a 7-0 vote and the Senate on an 32-3 vote.
The bill’s prime sponsor Sen. David Wheeler said the proposal was about “making better recommendations” on how to “improve the juvenile justice system” in South Dakota. It has been assigned to the House Judiciary committee.
Senate Bill 6: Authorizes community response teams to recommend community-based resources for alleged juvenile delinquents. ASBSD is monitoring the bill, which passed the Senate Judiciary committee on a 7-0 vote and the Senate on an 31-0 vote and has been assigned to the House Judiciary committee.
HB 1044: Establishes a scholarship program for students pursuing careers in a behavioral health field and appropriates funding for the scholarship. ASBSD is supporting the bill, which was referred by the House Health & Human Services on a 13-0 vote to the Joint Appropriations committee.
HB 1079: Appropriates $4 million to DOH for grants to support mental health services for youth and young adults. ASBSD is supporting the bill, which was referred to the Joint Appropriations committee from House Health & Human Services on a 13-0 vote.
Rep. Taylor Rehfeldt, the bill’s prime sponsor, said the state “absolutely can and absolutely should be doing more” in this area and that’s what the bill aimed to do.
House Bill 1191: Clarifies the duties of truancy officers. ASBSD supports the bill, which passed the House Education committee on a 15-0 vote and the House on an 64-4 vote.
“The local school is not responsible for investigating,” alternative instruction student truancy, testified SASD Executive Director Rob Monson. The bill has been assigned to the Senate Education Committee.
HCR 6001: Proposes the study of a potential optional educational path. ASBSD is monitoring HCR 6001, which passed House Education on a 15-0 vote, the House on a 67-2 vote and has been assigned to the Senate Education Committee.
HCR 6001 would request the legislature’s Executive Board to establish an interim study “to explore new alternatives to keep individuals 16 years or older engaged in learning opportunities that lead to high school completion” and the task force, whose composition has not been determined, to report their findings and recommendations to the legislature by February of next year.
HCR 6002: Proposes the study of childhood mental health and available childhood mental health services. ASBSD is monitoring HCR 6002, which passed House Education on a 13-0 vote, the House on a 69-0 vote and the Senate Health committee on a 7-0 vote.
“It is a really big issue in our state that’s not going to go anywhere,” Sen. Mike Rohl. “We need to focus on it.”
For updates on these bills and others from the 2023 legislative session, check the ASBSD Billtracker page and ASBSD Blog.