State Rep. Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, speaks in the state House chamber on Feb. 7, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
By: Joshua Haiar
PIERRE, S.D. (South Dakota Searchlight) — South Dakota Republican legislative leaders are still planning to push forward with school choice legislation after two bills failed in a committee earlier this week.
“The fight’s not over,” said House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish.
Democratic leaders said the effort is a waste of time and an attack on public education. Each leadership group had its weekly legislative press conference Thursday at the Capitol.
Republicans said they’re working on an alternative solution, which they hope will gain broader support following the rejection of a $4 million education savings account bill backed by Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden and another proposal from Rep. Dylan Jordan, R-Clear Lake, that would cost an estimated $142 million. Each of the bills sought to provide public funds to help families pay for private school tuition, homeschool or other alternative instruction costs.
Odenbach hoped to pass the governor’s bill, but concerns about its impact on public school funding and a lack of oversight and transparency in private education led to a 9-6 defeat in the House Education Committee. The competing bill was rejected in an 8-7 vote. Conflicting opinions among school choice supporters also contributed to the defeats, with some arguing the governor’s bill was too limited.
Several options exist to keep the effort alive, including procedural maneuvers to force the bills to the House floor, the filing of new bills, or the wholesale amendment of an unrelated bill.
Democratic leaders said the school choice bills should be left for dead.
“I think both bills had a fair hearing,” said House Minority Leader Erin Healy, D-Sioux Falls. “The room was completely packed yesterday. Everyone was there.”
The push for school choice in South Dakota received a potential boost from Washington, D.C., this week. President Donald Trump signed an executive order directing the federal Department of Education to explore federal funding opportunities for states with school choice programs.
“Hopefully we can get something in place to capitalize on that,” said Senate Majority Leader Jim Mehlhaff, R-Pierre.
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