South Dakota legislation · 101st Legislature (2026)
South Dakota SB187: define nonpublic school.
Status: Failed, February 17, 2026
What the bill says
An Act to define nonpublic school.
From the introduced text, January 29, 2026:
An Act to define nonpublic school. Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of South Dakota: Section 1. That a NEW SECTION be added to chapter 13-1: [ADDED: For purposes of this title, "nonpublic school" means an institution or entity, under the supervision and control of a governing body other than a publicly-elected board, as defined in § 13-8-1, which is created and operated by an individual, organization, or group of individuals, for the purposes of instructing children who are of compulsory school age, as defined in § 13-27-1, in at least the fundamentals of mathematics and the English language. Any instruction in the English language offered by the nonpublic school must be provided in a way that leads to a mastery of the English language.] [ADDED: A nonpublic school may:] [ADDED: (1) Limit enrollment to the school;] [ADDED: (2) Charge tuition;] [ADDED: (3) Receive federal or state revenues in the form of a grant, subsidy, or a special appropriation; and] [ADDED: (4) Receive services from a school district.] [ADDED: A nonpublic school is not assigned a geographic territory from which it may receive publicly collected tax revenue. A nonpublic school is not eligible to receive state aid to education distributed under chapter 13-13.] [ADDED: A nonpublic school may be accredited by the Department of Education or another …
Sponsors
- Heather Baxter (R, HD-034) · primary sponsor
- Lauren Nelson (R, SD-018) · primary sponsor
- Julie Auch (R, HD-018)
- Al Novstrup (R, HD-003)
- Carl Perry (R, 03)
Latest actions
- : Do Pass
- : Deferred to another day
- : Do Pass
- : Scheduled for hearing
- : First read in Senate and referred to Education
Votes
- Do Pass (February 17, 2026): 11 yea, 23 nay, failed
- Do Pass (February 10, 2026): 4 yea, 3 nay, passed
Subjects: Education, Private Education
Common questions
- What is SB187?
- SB187 is a bill in the South Dakota Legislature (101st Legislature (2026)): define nonpublic school.
- What does SB187 do?
- In its own words: An Act to define nonpublic school.
- What is the status of SB187?
- Failed as of February 17, 2026. Latest action: Do Pass (February 17, 2026).
- Who sponsored SB187?
- Heather Baxter (R, HD-034), with 4 co-sponsors.
- Where is the official record for SB187?
- On the South Dakota Legislature website: https://sdlegislature.gov/Session/Bill/27097
Source: official South Dakota record. Tracked by Delilah, AI for legislation across all 50 states and Congress.