The state has a plan in place to meet the requirements of the federal education policy.

 

At the State Board of Education meeting in May (5/15) a summary of South Dakota’s plan for educating students under the Every Student Succeeds Act was presented following a year’s worth of discussion with educators and stakeholders in South Dakota, including the ASBSD Board of Directors.

 

The proposal of the plan is available and public comment can be made until Friday, June 30 at 5:00 p.m. CDT.

 

Click here to view South Dakota’s ESSA plan and click here to comment on the plan.

 

“South Dakota was in a solid position when ESSA passed,” Secretary of Education Melody Schopp said in a statement.

 

 

“Passage of ESSA provided us the opportunity to assess our system and look for flexibilities within the new federal law that would support our state priorities for educating students.”

 

South Dakota’s school accountability system will not see extensive changes, but additional features in the plan include:

• At the high school level, South Dakota will expand its accountability indicator related to college and career readiness. This means schools would receive recognition for providing opportunities for students (e.g., dual credit courses, Advanced Placement courses and exams, and career and technical education courses) in addition to measuring performance on the ACT or Smarter Balanced test;
• South Dakota will look to emphasize the importance of a positive school climate by developing an accountability indicator around the idea of safe and healthy schools. This indicator would apply to elementary and middle schools;
• South Dakota will look to explore options for allowing schools to assess students not based on the strict structure of grade levels, but rather at their level of learning;
• South Dakota will place an emphasis on the progress of students, whose primary language is not English, in learning the English language.

“We took our time in developing this plan – knowing that the federal landscape was changing and with the driving idea of doing what is right for South Dakota students,” Schopp said in the statement.

“We look forward to the release of the draft plan and receiving additional input.”