Search Bills

provide certain provisions regarding sex education in public schools.

HB1162 requires parents to actively opt-in (give written permission) before their children can participate in any sex education or sexuality instruction at public schools, and schools must provide a description of content and materials for parental review at least two weeks before instruction. The bill also establishes that abstinence education programs must emphasize abstinence before marriage and marital fidelity, and students who don't participate in sex education get an extra study period instead.

to protect the teaching of certain scientific information.

This bill prevents schools from blocking teachers from discussing both the strengths and weaknesses of scientific information presented in their courses, as long as the discussion is objective and tied to state content standards. The change protects teachers' ability to have students critically analyze scientific material rather than simply accept it without question.

require schools to provide instruction on South Dakota's tribal history, culture, and government.

South Dakota schools must now include instruction on tribal history, culture, and government in their curriculum. This change amends the state's education requirements to ensure students learn about South Dakota's Native American tribes and their place in the state's past and present. The bill expands what schools are required to teach about the people and communities that are central to South Dakota's identity.

require parental permission and website posting of student survey instruments.

# HB1163 Summary Schools must get written parental permission before giving students surveys and must post all survey instruments on their websites for public review. This ensures parents know what questions their children are being asked in school and can opt their children out if they choose.

require parental notice of a social and emotional learning questionnaire regarding a student.

Schools must notify parents before giving students social and emotional learning questionnaires—those that ask about feelings, mental health, or behavior—and get written parental permission before completing them. Parents must also receive a copy of the completed questionnaire once it's added to the student's school records. This requirement doesn't apply to questionnaires for students already enrolled in special education or Section 504 disability services.

require parental permission and website posting of student survey instruments.

Schools must get written parental permission before giving students surveys and must post all survey instruments on their websites for public review. This gives parents the ability to see what questions their children will be asked and decide whether they want their child to participate.

require parental notification of self-injurious behavior expressed during counseling sessions.

This bill requires school counselors, psychologists, and social workers to notify parents if a student under 18 expresses feelings of gender dysphoria or interest in self-injurious behavior during counseling sessions. It carves out an exception to South Dakota's existing confidentiality protections for school counselors, which currently prevent them from disclosing student communications to others.

prohibit school districts from using school or athletic team names, mascots, or nicknames that are determined to be racially derogatory or discriminatory.

School districts would be prohibited from using school or athletic team names, mascots, or nicknames that are determined to be racially derogatory or discriminatory. This creates a new requirement for districts to evaluate their current names and mascots, and bars them from adopting any new ones that meet this definition going forward.

to prohibit the conduct of certain physical examinations or screenings on students in a school district without parental consent.

# HB1156 Summary **This bill requires school districts to get written parental consent before conducting physical examinations or screenings on students.** The change prevents schools from performing certain medical checks or evaluations on children without permission from their parents or guardians first.

Supporting the right to pray in public schools.

This concurrent resolution is a statement of support expressing that students should have the right to pray in public schools, grounded in religious freedom principles from the First Amendment. It does not change existing South Dakota law, but rather urges recognition of students' existing constitutional rights to engage in private prayer at school. The resolution references the small amendment to §22-42-1 but functions primarily as a legislative expression of values rather than a legal change.

provide exemptions from certain requirements for the 2019-2020 school year and to declare an emergency.

During the 2019-2020 school year, South Dakota school districts are exempt from several education requirements, including certain accountability system standards and standardized testing requirements that would normally apply. Students in grades 4, 8, and 11 receiving alternative instruction are also waived from taking nationally standardized achievement tests for that year. The bill declares an emergency so these exemptions take effect immediately.

limit the scope of medical information that may be required as a condition of participation in sanctioned activities.

This bill prevents school districts from requiring parents to sign forms giving doctors permission to share a student's medical records as a condition of playing sports or participating in school-sanctioned activities. Instead, districts may only require a physical examination form signed by a doctor or a parent-signed health form stating the student is physically able to participate, and this medical information can only be used to verify the student's fitness level and identify physical limitations.