Governor Kristi Noem signed Senate Bill 177 into law, which empowers parents who make the choice to educate their children at home.

“Good education starts in the home with strong parents and strong families,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “For some kids, the home is the best environment for them to get an individualized education that fits their needs. This legislation will help parents set their children up for a lifetime of success. It will also give these students the opportunity to participate in activities, which may be the bridge that they need to get back in public school.”

Support for SB 177 brought huge numbers of parents and children from across South Dakota to the State Capitol. Photos of Governor Noem signing the legislation can be found here.

Governor Kristi Noem signed Senate Bill 96 into law, which increases access to healthcare by allowing South Dakotans to utilize telehealth flexibilities.

“COVID-19 challenged us in new, unforeseen ways, and those challenges provided us an opportunity to adapt and find innovative ways to deliver healthcare in South Dakota,” said Governor Kristi Noem. “We greatly expanded telehealth in 2020. Going forward, we will build on these technological advancements and continue to find ways to remove government red tape in healthcare.”

SB 96 is a permanent extension of portions of both Executive Order 2020-07 and Executive Order 2020-16, which Governor Noem signed last year to increase flexibility in the state’s response to COVID-19. Pictures of the bill signing can be found here.

Governor Noem also signed SB 83 into law, which requires the provision of information regarding perinatal hospice. Pictures of that bill signing can be found here.

Governor Noem has signed 123 bills into law this legislative session.

There is no School on Thursday, March 11th for Winner Schools.

Governor Kristi Noem has signed Senate Bill 31 that allows for the limited release of adult abuse case information necessary to assist adult protective services (APS) to achieve improved outcomes during an investigation.

South Dakota Department of Human Services Cabinet Secretary Shawnie Rechtenbaugh said, “The passage of this legislation will allow for more efficient delivery of services to vulnerable adults in South Dakota, by opening communication.”

APS investigates allegations of abuse, neglect and exploitation for vulnerable adults in South Dakota, those over the age of 60 and those over age 18 with a disability. 

Under South Dakota Codified Law, there were no specific guidelines allowing the release of information to cooperating agencies during an investigation; this change corrects that issue.

Rechtenbaugh added, “This legislation will give the department the ability to share information, which may help facilitate a positive outcome for victims of abuse and neglect.”

The new legislation is effective July 1, 2021

Todd County Early Childhood Exceptional Education will be hosting a developmental screening for families  in the school district on March 19th from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  This is offered for children who are not already in the program and are ages baby through 5 years old. One can contact the office at 605-856-3513.

The Chamberlain School Board will hold their bi-monthly meeting tonight at the Chamberlain Middle/Highschool Library at 7:00 p.m.  The Chamberlain School Board meets on second and fourth Monday each month.

The Gregory School Board will have their monthly meeting Monday, March 8th at 5:30 p.m. at Gregory Highschool.  The Gregory School Board meets the second Monday of every month.  Monday night’s agenda can be found at https://gregory.k12.sd.us/20-21/March%20Agenda%202021.pdf 

The South Dakota Legislature passed legislation Friday that improves the Partners in Education Tax Credit Program. Governor Noem, a strong proponent for expanding educational opportunity for children, is expected to sign the bill into law.

• Senate Bill 175 passed the Senate on 30 – 5 vote and passed the House yesterday on a 60 – 9 vote.
• The bill removes the requirement that an eligible student needs to have attended a public school in the prior year or that they be entering Kindergarten, first grade or ninth grade.
• Now any income eligible child in any grade, including one already in private school, is eligible to receive a scholarship.
• The bill is on its way to the Governor’s desk, and she is expected to sign it into law.

As part of its March Planning Webinar series, the South Dakota Soil Health Coalition will host the Diversity Tools and Salinity Discussion at 1 p.m. CST on March 17. This free webinar will offer a discussion led by Natural Resources Conservation Service South Dakota State Soil Health Specialist Kent Vlieger on the benefits of biodiversity, the economics of saline soils, and the tools and programs available to help producers manage soils with high salinity. With a dry spring predicted, this year could offer conditions favorable to planting saline areas in fields and pastures, so now is a good time to start planning for their management.

To learn more about this webinar, which is being provided with assistance from NRCS South Dakota, South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources and South Dakota Association of Conservation Districts, visit tinyurl.com/Mar17-salinity.

The Winner School Board will hold their next meeting, Monday, March 8th at at 7:00 pm in room 200 of the Winner High School building located at 431 East 7th Street.  Agenda items must be submitted to the Superintendent by the first Wednesday of each month.