K-12 Public Schools and Students (2002-2003)
K-12 Public School Teachers (2002-2003)
K-12 Private Schools (2001-2002)
K-12 Public and Private School Student Academic Performance
South Dakota offers statewide public school choice. High school students may take college courses at public universities for high school or postsecondary credit or both.[1] Background During the 2000 legislative session, two school choice bills were introduced. H.B. 1241 would have established independent, nonsectarian public "voucher schools." Students in voucher schools would have received a "nonsectarian voucher" worth $3,666 for tuition. The bill was approved in committee but was defeated on the House floor.[3]
The second bill, H.B. 1265, would have provided students with vouchers to attend accredited private schools. The vouchers would have been awarded for the amount of the private school's tuition or one-third of the state's expenditure per public school pupil, whichever was less. If test scores at participating schools failed to exceed national averages for two consecutive years, the South Dakota Department of Education and Cultural Affairs could have refused to grant vouchers for those schools. This bill likewise was approved in committee but was defeated by a House vote.[4]
In 2002, South Dakota lawmakers narrowly voted down a bill that would have allowed homeschool students to participate in public school athletic teams. The bill, H.B. 1072, was approved by the House Education Committee by a vote of 11 to 4, but when it reached the full House, it was defeated by one vote: 34 to 33.[5]
Senate Bill 156, introduced in January 2004 by Senator Brock Greenfield (R-District 6), would have required school districts to monitor all home-school students when they took national or state standardized achievement tests. This bill was voted out of committee 5-2.[6]
State Choice Laws http://mb2.ecs.org/reports/Report.aspx?id=207 Position of the Governor/Composition of the State Legislature State Contacts Great Plains Public Policy InstituteMr. Ronald Williamson, President P.O. Box 88138 Sioux Falls, SD 57109 Phone: (605) 334-9400 Fax: (605) 332-2641 Website: www.greatplainsppi.org E-mail: contact@greatplainsppi.org South Dakota Christian Home Educators P.O. Box 9571 Rapid City, SD 57709 Phone: 605-721-2641 Website: www.sdche.org E-mail: SDCHE@sdche.com South Dakota Family Policy Council Mr. Chris Hupke, President 3500 South Phillips Avenue, Suite 110 Sioux Falls, SD 57105 Phone: (605) 335-8100 Fax: (605) 336-1926 Website: www.sdfamily.org E-mail: mail@sdfamily.org South Dakota State CAPE Tim Van Soelen, President, South Dakota Christian School Association Souix Falls Christian Elementary School 700 South Sneve Avenue Sioux Falls, SD 57103 Phone: 712-722-6228 Fax: 712-722-1198 E-mail: timmothyv@dordt.edu State School Report Card [1]Education Commission of the States, "Postsecondary Options: Dual/Concurrent Enrollment," July 2001. [2]See South Dakota Legislative Research Council Web site at http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/1997/1075.htm. [3]See South Dakota Legislative Research Council Web site at http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2000/index.cfm?FuseAction=TextSearch. [4]Ibid. [5]South Dakota Legislature, 2002 Session, H. 1072, at http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2002/1072.htm; Home School Legal Defense Association, "South Dakota Rejects Interscholastic Sports for Home Schoolers," February 6, 2002, at www.hslda.org/hs/state/SD/200202060.asp. [6] South Dakota Legislature 2004 Session, S.B. 156 at http://legis.state.sd.us/sessions/2004/index.cfm?FuseAction=DisplayBills. [7]South Dakota Office of the Governor, M. Michael Rounds, at www.state.sd.us/governor/ (August 4, 2004). [8]South Dakota provides district-level information. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
