A sigh of relief and well deserved celebration followed the clearing of the final legislative hurdle by the bill increasing the state’s sales tax by a half cent and that celebration continued through the final day of the 91st legislative session (3/11) when Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed the bill into law. Senators broke the …
HB 1182: Sales tax increase bill passes Senate, signed by Gov. Read More »
Gov. Dennis Daugaard vetoed a bill restricting access to bathrooms and locker rooms for transgender students, which could have potentially put school districts in a legal quandary. After passing the House and Senate, House Bill 1008, which would have separated bathrooms, locker rooms and shower rooms in public schools based on the biological sex …
HB 1008: Gov. vetoes restricted bathroom access bill Read More »
A proposal for private school scholarships to be funded by public dollars found its way on to the desk of Gov. Dennis Daugaard, but still has one more hurdle to clear. Senate Bill 159, which uses tax credits from the insurance company premium and annuity tax to fund private school scholarships, passed the Senate on …
SB 159: Private school scholarship bill being reviewed by Gov. Read More »
Multiple bills related to public education and school boards were signed into law during the last week of the 91st legislative session. Senate Bill 5, which which revises the process of school district boundary change, overwhelmingly found favor from the Senate (32-1) and House (65-2) before Gov. Dennis Daugaard signed it into law. ASBSD …
A key piece of the proposal package to improve teacher pay and public education funding in South Dakota found near unanimous favor in the legislature and was signed into law by Gov. Dennis Daugaard. Senate Bill 133, which would appropriate $5 million to a variety of programs that would assist school districts in sharing services, …
SB 133: Funding for innovative ed. options signed by Gov. Read More »
With the passage of each piece of Gov. Dennis Daugaard and the Blue Ribbon Task Force’s education funding proposal, the negotiations landscape has changed and ASBSD is here to explain the requirements that come with the new laws and answer your questions. We will host Collective Bargaining Seminars to update school board members and …
UPDATED: Collective Bargaining Seminars Scheduled Read More »
Two weeks after it came out of committee, a bill providing funding for private school scholarships found its way out of the Senate. Senate Bill 159, which uses tax credits from the insurance company premium and annuity tax to fund private school scholarships, passed the Senate on a vote of 24-11. SB 159 would …
SB 159: Private school scholarship bill sent through Senate Read More »
A recurring theme of legislative committee hearings of the bill calling for the increase to the state’s sales tax is the lack of opponent testimony. Similar to its House committee hearing, House Bill 1182, which increases the state’s sales tax by a half cent and reduces property taxes, had a line of proponents testifying …
HB 1182: Senate comm. supports sales tax increase Read More »
Members of a House committee favored fixing the minor boundary change process. House Education committee members voted 13-0 to pass Senate Bill 5, which revises the process of school district boundary change. ASBSD Policy and Legal Services Director Gerry Kaufman testified in favor of SB 5, noting the change would provide “stable school …
A proposed expansion to open meeting laws took another step in the legislative process. House State Affairs committee members passed Senate Bill 73, which clarifies what constitutes an open meeting and includes electronic medium meetings under open meeting’s law, on a vote of 11-1. The legislation was a reply to concern about government …
SB 73: Open meeting expansion bill moves on in House Read More »
Associated School Boards of South Dakota is a private, non-profit organization representing more than 850 local school board members, the school districts they govern and the students they serve.