The South Dakota House of Representatives meets on Feb. 6, 2025, at the Capitol in Pierre. (Photo by Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)
Since South Dakota has a citizen Legislature, the people who serve us in the House and Senate also have jobs. They are farmers, lawyers, nurses and accountants, among other things. In addition to their role in the Legislature and their day jobs, some of them also seem to think they are part-time public school administrators.
During each legislative session, a raft of bills are put forward for the betterment of education. At this writing, there are already more than 55 education bills for the Legislature to consider with more likely on the way. Some bills may offer needed tweaks in the law. Others may be requested by educators. Others, however, no matter how good they look on the surface, are just legislative interference.
Even bills that look like good ideas can lose their luster when the testimony starts from people who know their way around a classroom. One example is House Bill 1078, which would have allowed students to substitute an agriculture class for a science class.
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“I’m very encouraged by the potential this legislation holds for strengthening agriculture education,” said the bill’s prime sponsor in the House, Mitchell Republican Kaley Nolz, as quoted in a South Dakota Searchlight story.
Department of Education officials said the bill was unneeded since the department already has ways for career and technical education classes, like agriculture, to take the place of the credits required in core classes like science, math and fine arts.
Nolz should know that there’s more to agriculture than science. A future farmer’s curriculum should also include economics, accounting and shop. The passage of such a bill may actually do more harm than good attracting new farmers, as students learn that a career in agriculture will make them subject to the whims of fickle markets, uncooperative weather patterns and government intrusion.
Another example of a seemingly good idea that fades under scrutiny is HB 1008, which would allow high school athletes to get credit for competing in prep sports so they wouldn’t have to take gym class.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. Kathy Rice, a Black Hawk Republican, brought in Rapid City student-athletes to testify that it’s redundant for them to spend time away from class going to athletic events only to have to attend a gym class when they’re at school. No matter what their reasoning, it’s hard not to be cynical about a high school student trying to get out of gym class.
Education officials cautioned that many school districts have to rely on volunteers to coach their teams. A student getting class credit for participating in a sport would be getting that credit thanks to someone who doesn’t have a teaching certificate, a profound break with South Dakota’s education standards.
Despite hearing about the pitfalls of these bills, they made so much sense that they both passed through the House Education Committee. In the full House, cooler heads prevailed and both bills were defeated.
Headed for the Senate Education Committee is Senate Bill 198, which restricts cellphone use by students during the school day. Sponsored by Sen. Chris Karr, a Sioux Falls Republican, the bill says students may use a cell phone if there is a medical or educational purpose or in the event of an emergency. Local boards will decide the discipline students will face for noncompliance.
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Once again, this seems like a good idea on the surface. Students are there to learn, after all, not to scroll. But passage of the bill flies in the face of local control for school boards. While SB 198 leaves it up to local boards to decide on discipline and what constitutes a school day, it takes away their power to decide on the use of cellphones in a one-size-fits-all policy.
The beauty of local school boards is that they reflect the wants and needs of their communities. Some have students squirrel away their phones all day. Others give students access to their phones during lunch. Still others use the freedom for students to have a phone during the school day as a lesson in responsibility.
Banning student cellphone use in schools sounds good on the surface. So did substituting ag classes for science classes and allowing athletes to substitute sports participation for a gym credit. Whenever the Legislature gets into the business of micromanaging school districts, there are pitfalls aplenty.
Lawmakers have enough on their plates without trying to be part-time school administrators. They should leave classroom policies to the educators who deal with them every day.
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