A bill reimbursing schools for training costs related to the Sentinel program crossed the Capitol hall.

 

House Bill 1152, which provides financial assistance for school sentinel training, passed the House of Representatives on a 45-25 vote last week.

 

HB 1152 would provide a $1,500 reimbursement – paid by the S.D. Department of Education – to school districts who have an employee complete the Sentinel program training up to a total annual amount of $45,000 being able to be distributed.

 

“There could be an annual maximum number of 30 (trainees),” Rep. Dayle Hammock, the bill’s prime sponsor, said, adding that his “best estimate” was there would be 20 or fewer attendees.

 

Rep. Jean Hunhoff noted that when the program was initially adopted by the legislature in 2013 “we weren’t going to use education or state funded dollars to support” the program and she was “not sure incentivizing” the program was the way to handle the matter.

 

“We’re going to use more additional dollars to do that,” Rep. Hunhoff told fellow Representatives.

 

ASBSD is monitoring the bill, which now move to the Senate Appropriations committee for review and debate at a committee hearing on Monday, February 24.

 

For updates on the bill and others during the 2020 legislative session, check the ASBSD Blog and Bill Tracker page.