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On Crossover Day, the House of Representatives passed, a bill to “establish parameters for the reimbursement of school districts that provide free or reduced-price meals to students”. The prime sponsor stated that the bill does not remove parental responsibility, as only certain families are eligible, and the parents must still fill out paperwork in order to receive meals for their children. South Dakota’s current system, based off the National School Lunch Act of 1946, means that while costs of these meals remain constant, funds are inconsistently gathered through district budgets, private fundraisers, and community charity. The bill provides a small amount of state funding to relieve the school districts of these continuous costs which are not receiving continuous funding. On Wednesday, House Commerce and Energy heard SB 88, which passed unanimously and with zero opponent testimony. Senate Bill 88 is an act to “clarify the procedure for a potential condemner to examine real property absent the property owner's permission”. The bill was brought to address problems created by a former law allowing surveyors with a PUC permit to survey private land without addressing the landowner. The repercussions of this former law included surveyors surprising people in their own homes and making unauthorized changes to their land, resulting in several lawsuits. SB 88 codifies a 2024 SD Supreme Court ruling that invasive surveying is unconstitutional. The bill passed committee unanimously and was sent to the floor to be heard on Thursday with a Do Pass recommendation. A bill to invest in South Dakota’s youth passed the House on Wednesday afternoon with a majority support of the house. HB 1244 was an act to provide a one-time appropriation to the Jobs for America’s Graduates program, currently available in many South Dakota high schools. The sponsor briefly shared about the program, whose aim is to keep students facing certain hardships staying in schools and to instill leadership qualities in them, leading to employment post high school. The program boasts a 99% graduation rate, a 99% retention rate, and 88% of students that are in the program move on to full time employment or post-secondary education. While the existing JAG programs currently receive funding that stems from their local school districts, the appropriation would go into a pool to be used for the expansion of the program, and which would be used to attract other federal and private funding sources. The bill required the support of 2/3 of members elect in order to pass, and it passed easily with 51 representatives present in support. The light is at the end of the tunnel. We have 2 weeks left. Madison isn’t part of our district but every year they bring up all their 4th graders after they have a “little legislators’ session” It’s a highlight of the session for so many of us. I would love to see more schools participating. God Bless,