By PIERRE — Students who are aggressive or violent in the classroom could be sent to an alternative setting if Gov. Larry Rhoden signs two bills passed this week by South Dakota lawmakers.
Violence and verbal abuse toward teachers from students is rising, according to South Dakota Secretary of Education Joe Graves. He cited data from the Pew Research Center that notes more than two-thirds of teachers nationally have been yelled at or verbally threatened by a student.
Graves told lawmakers about concerns from educators in the state.
Graves
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“If I were a teacher, just starting out, there is no way I would stay in the profession if I knew this is what I would be dealing with until retirement,” Graves said Tuesday, March 3 in a Senate Education Committee hearing.
The Senate voted 33-1 to advance a bill that would allow a school board to send students who engage in “aggressive or violent” behavior to an alternative learning setting.
School boards could assign a student to learn at home, a different classroom or a different building.
The bill does not allow school boards to reassign students who are protected by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. But, the bill should have more protections for students with disabilities, argued Cole Uecker, executive director for Disability Rights South Dakota.
Schools could “see this as an opportunity to remove children who have behaviors related to their disability,” Uecker said, “as opposed to going through the hard work of finding eligibility and coverage for special education services.”
Money offered for alternative settings
A second bill some supporters describe as a companion bill to the first would give the state Department of Education $2 million to grant to a qualified nonprofit to serve as an alternative learning option in the Aberdeen area for students with behavioral health concerns. That bill passed 30-4.
The bill’s title is “An Act to make an appropriation for a non-residential, school-based, therapeutic services facility in Brown County.” It does not specify which group would receive the grant funding, but one of the nonprofits that could apply for a grant, Children’s Home Society, has day school locations in Sioux Falls and Rapid City and is considering adding services in Aberdeen.
Rohl
An Aberdeen building would be able to serve 24 students in a non-residential, day facility. Sen. Michael Rohl, R-Aberdeen, said it could begin taking in students in fall.
“It allows us to focus on individuals who need this help,” Rohl said. “We’re also allowing the rest of our students to have access to a safe learning environment.”
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Supporters said the facility would free up space at similar buildings in Rapid City and Sioux Falls and allow students from northeastern South Dakota to receive behavioral health help closer to home.
Both bills were supported by the House of Representatives and now await final approval from Rhoden.
All Aberdeen area legislators in both chambers voted in favor of the bill.
Other juvenile justice actions
The House Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 79 on Wednesday, March 4. The bill would let a judge put a minor in Department of Corrections custody for certain gun and weapon crimes. The judge could only do so if “no viable alternative exists,” and they have found the child is at serious risk of physically harming someone. It passed the House Judiciary Committee on a 9-3 vote.
The House of Representatives voted 37-30 to reject a bill that would have appropriated $50,000 to the state’s Department of Corrections to study juvenile correctional and residential facilities outside the state.
