Of the many Common Core Standards related bills introduced this session, Senate Bills 63 and 64 are the only pieces of legislation to reach the desk of Gov. Dennis Daugaard.

 

SB 63 was unanimously passed by the House of Representatives on Monday.

 

The bill protects the privacy of student records by prohibiting the collection of student information including, political affiliation, religious practices and family gun ownership among other things and requires increased security measures to protect information. SB 63 also allows for aggregate data to be released in order for districts to apply for impact aid and the other makes a minor word change.

 

Vocal Common Core critic Rep. Jim Bolin called the bill “another step in this process,” of compromise between proponents and opponents of the standards.

 

Rep. Jacqueline Sly noted that with the changes in data collection in K-12 education there is “a need for different policy” on the type of information collected. Rep. Sly praised SB 63 for addressing a major point of contention held by opponents of Common Core.

 

“As you can see, steps are being taken to address concerns regarding the privacy of student data,” Rep. Sly said.

 

ASBSD is monitoring the bill, which now awaits the signature or veto of Gov. Daugaard.

 

For updates on the bill and other pieces of legislation check the ASBSD Blog and Bill Tracker page.