The creation of the governing board for postsecondary technical institutes came further to fruition after getting through its first legislative chamber.

 

On Tuesday (1/31), Senators passed Senate Bill 65, which establishes the South Dakota Board of Technical Education and revises certain provisions for CTE and tech institutes, on a 33-0 vote.

 

SB 65 is a product of the passage of Amendment R during the general election in November and will have a representative from the state’s four technical institutes – Lake Area Technical Institute, Mitchell Technical Institute, Southeast Technical Institute and Western Dakota Technical Institute –  fill an appointed seat on the newly established oversight board.

 

In addition to the representation from the tech institutes, five other members, representing different geographic regions of the state, as well as different industries, will have a seat on the board, , which obtains oversight from the South Dakota Board of Education. All seats on the oversight board are appointed by Gov. Dennis Daugaard.

 

The bill still provides local control to the local boards of education in the school district in which the tech institutes reside.

 

ASBSD supports the bill.

 

During discussion on the Senate floor, Sen. Jim Bolin said the bill would “have a long-term, tremendous impact on the state.”

 

For updates on SB 65, which now heads to the House, check the ASBSD Blog, Twitter feed and Bill Tracker.