The 2020 legislative session began today (1/14) and ASBSD has you covered for coverage of the daily occurrences in the legislature.
Four ASBSD resources will help you keep up-to-date on the 95th legislative session, they include:
ASBSD Billtracker provides you with a list of each piece of legislation the Association is tracking during session. To access the Bill Tracker page, click the “Bill Tracker” link at the top of ASBSD’s homepage.
Billtracker provides the bill number (hyperlinked to its webpage on the South Dakota legislative website), a brief summary of the bill (with hyperlinks to the latest blog post for certain bills), ASBSD’s position on the bill, its current chamber or committee and the date of the most recent action on the bill.
By clicking on any of the headers (the portion in blue at the top of table) – Bill Number, ASBSD Summary, Position, Current Location or Date of last update – you can sort the bills listed. For example, if you want to know which bills ASBSD is supporting, monitoring or opposing, click the “Position” header.
The Billtracker page will be regularly updated as bills are passed or killed and move from committees to the Senate or House floor.
Download the “Navigating ASBSD’s Bill Tracker” guide here.
Bill Tracker provides an outline of session, while the ASBSD Blog fills in its details.
Updated routinely during session, the ASBSD Blog will recap the action from committee meetings, floor votes and any other legislative item related to K-12 education.
You can access the ASBSD Blog by clicking the link found at the top of the homepage. The most recent blog posts can also be found under the “Latest News” heading found near the middle of the ASBSD home page.
Our third legislative resource is the “2020 Legislative Session Documents” list, which can be found at the top of the Publication and Forms page.
Documents, which will be added throughout session, will be from ASBSD, SASD, Department of Education (DOE), Bureau of Finance and Management (BFM), Legislative Research Council and other resources and will provide general information related to legislation, as well as specific information about your district or from districts around the state.
One such document is the “Navigating the South Dakota Legislature website” guide, which you can download here.
Finally, ASBSD compiles a list of legislative cracker barrels scheduled across the state. Legislative Cracker Barrels in your area offer access to your local legislators, as well as the chance to hear their answers on a variety of legislative topics.
Starting this year, earn 10 ALL Points for EACH school board member who attends a Legislative Cracker Barrel. After you’ve attended just email ASBSD Director of Communications Tyler Pickner at tpickner@asbsd.org and your board will receive the 10 points.
Check out the list of dates and locations of legislative cracker barrels being held throughout South Dakota here and if you have any dates and locations that are not listed, email them to tpickner@asbsd.org.
Each tool is designed to help you stay up-to-date on the latest from legislative session, as well as reference when you’re advocating to your area legislators or discussing issues with your fellow board members or people from your community.
If you have questions about the information or how to access the resources, contact Tyler at tpickner@asbsd.org or at 605-773-8382 or 605-881-3791.
Each resource will be updated regularly during legislative session so be sure to visit www.asbsd.org often.