A proposed study of special education saw its way across the hall in the Capitol.

 

The Senate Education committee (5-1) and full Senate (29-5) passed Senate Bill 3, which creates the Special Education Task Force to further examine special education in South Dakota.

 

ASBSD supports the bill.

 

We need to have a better understanding of what solutions schools can use (for special education),” ASBSD Executive Director Wade Pogany said during the bill’s committee hearing. “This is getting to be a crisis point.”

 

SB 3 came out of the 2018 legislative interim committee charged with studying the extraordinary cost fund.

 

“We’re seeing a rising number of special (education) students,” Sen. Jim Bolin, the interim study’s vice chair, testified. “We’re going to need to take a deeper dive…going to need to have a broad based, wide-ranging task force set up.”

 

The bill would create a 12-member committee comprised of three legislators, an advocate for persons with disabilities, three school district superintendents, school board member, special education director, business manager, parent of a child of a special education student who attends a public school district and one other individual appointed by the governor.

 

The proposed committee would be required to submit all findings to the legislature and the governor by December 31, 2020.

 

“This group’s going to come back and very closely evaluate our situation,” Sen. Bolin said during the committee hearing. “It’s an opportunity to try to grapple with this issue.”

 

SB 3 now moves to the House for review.

 

For updates on this bill and other legislation, check the ASBSD Blog, Twitter feed, Facebook page and Bill Tracker.