Resolutions
Each year, the ASBSD Delegate Assembly adopts resolutions that guide ASBSD's advocacy efforts. Resolutions are drafted by member districts or by the ASBSD Policy and Resolutions Committee, a subcommittee of the ASBSD Board of Directors.
2012 RESOLUTIONS
A. ACHIEVEMENT AND EQUITY
1. Pre-Kindergarten Standards
ASBSD supports the development and adoption of statewide content and accreditation standards for voluntary pre-kindergarten education programs.
2. Reorganization – Incentives – Grade Sharing
ASBSD supports legislation that offers sufficient incentives and assistance to encourage expanded academic opportunities and program efficiencies through voluntary reorganization, program sharing, grade-sharing and sharing of administration.
3. Compulsory School Attendance
ASBSD supports compulsory attendance in public school to age 18 or until a student graduates.
4. Open Enrollment - Date for Approval
ASBSD supports legislation to allow local school districts to establish dates by which open enrollment requests must be submitted to the local district in order to be approved, provided the legislation makes available exceptions or an appeal process to protect the student’s best interest.
5. Common Core Academic Standards
ASBSD supports common core academic standards, provided the state has a workable plan, complete with sufficient financial resources and professional development for school staff, to facilitate implementation of the standards.
6. Co-Curricular Activities - Free Access
ASBSD supports co-curricular activities as an important component of South Dakota’s system of public education and opposes legislation that will in any way establish fees for access to co-curricular offerings.
7. Public School Accountability
ASBSD supports public school accountability that accurately measures school district performance and provides school boards both the flexibility and resources to support a culture of continuous improvement.
B. LOCAL GOVERNANCE
1. Appointments to Commissions
ASBSD supports the appointment of South Dakota school board members to statewide commissions, advisory committees and forums that directly or indirectly affect the development of state education policy.
2. Technical Institute Governance
ASBSD supports local governance of the state’s technical institutes.
3. Fund Balances
ASBSD supports local governance in the management of school district funds, including allowing local schools to determine appropriate fund balance levels.
4. Bullying Prevention
ASBSD supports legislation that requires local school boards to adopt written bullying prevention policies that prohibit student bullying, provided the legislation recognizes the need to provide local school boards with flexibility to respond to district’s unique circumstances and student populations.
5. Employee Health Insurance Plans
ASBSD supports health insurance options that allow local school boards to choose from a range of competitive options and opposes mandates requiring all schools to participate in a single health insurance plan.
6. Preschool and Driver Education Fee Authority
ASBSD supports legislation to allow school districts to charge tuition for voluntary preschool and driver education programs.
C. SCHOOL FINANCE
1. Adequate Funding
ASBSD supports legislation to increase per-student funding to adequate levels to allow South Dakota districts to meet the diverse learning needs of every South Dakota student.
2. Index Factor
ASBSD supports legislation to provide South Dakota’s public schools with the statutorily required per-student funding increase.
3. Per-Student Allocation
ASBSD supports legislation to ensure the state’s school finance formula contains a base per-student allocation that provides school districts with sufficient and predictable per-student funding.
4. Education Service Agencies
ASBSD supports the reinstatement of full funding for Educational Service Agencies.
5. Consistent Sparsity Funding
ASBSD supports consistent district-level funding provided by the state for sparse school districts as defined in SDCL 13-13-78.
6. Capital Outlay Funds
ASBSD supports the temporary provisions granted in 2009 that allow school districts to use capital outlay funds to pay for some insurance, energy and transportation costs.
7. Initiated Measure 15
ASBSD supports Initiated Measure 15.
D. TAXATION
1. 150% Rule
ASBSD supports a gradual repeal of the “150% Rule” that holds South Dakota school districts harmless from any adverse impact on a local school district’s ability to raise needed revenue through the capital outlay, special education and pension levies.
2. Other Revenue
ASBSD supports current state law that allows “other revenue” to be used exclusively by the school district in which the revenue is generated.
3. General Fund Levy Adjustments
ASBSD supports legislation that reduces the burden on local property tax payers by annually adjusting the property tax levies for the school district general fund.
E. PERSONNEL
1. Differential Pay for School Employees
ASBSD supports legislation that preserves a local school board’s ability to develop performance and market-based compensation mechanisms.
2. Continuing Contract
ASBSD supports legislation to extend the probationary period in existing continuing contract law by an additional year.
3. South Dakota Retirement System
ASBSD supports actuarially sound efforts to strengthen the long-term viability of the South Dakota Retirement System, provided the changes, to the greatest extent possible, preserve benefits for school employees and provide local school boards with the flexibility to make effective hiring decisions.
4. Human Resource Management
ASBSD supports state policy that maintains a local district’s ability to develop hiring, evaluation and compensation policies that support local efforts to recruit and retain quality staff.
F. UNFUNDED MANDATES
1. State Board of Education Mandates
ASBSD supports legislative action prevent the State Board of Education from adopting administrative rules that place unfunded mandates on public schools.
2. Federal Mandates
ASBSD supports full funding for all federal mandates, including the Individuals with Disability Education Improvement Act (IDEA) and the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB/ESEA).
G. FEDERAL RELATIONS
1. ESEA/NCLB – Reauthorization
ASBSD supports a fully funded federal education policy for elementary and secondary education that focuses on improving learning outcomes for every child, provides for public school accountability and gives local school boards flexibility to develop education programs reflective of the local student population and community.
2. MEDICAID SERVICE REIMBURSEMENT
ASBSD supports the continuation of federal Medicaid Service provided to K-12 for providing health services to Medicaid-eligible students.
3. PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES
ASBSD supports legislation to develop guidelines for disbursements of PILT (payment in lieu of taxes) fund from the county level to the school districts within the counties.
4. SCHOOL NUTRITION
ASBSD supports the reauthorization of the Child Nutrition Act, provided Congress appropriates adequate resources to improve school nutrition, fully funds any expansion of school lunch and breakfast programs, and does not impose burdensome regulation or mandates on schools outside of the federally subsidized meal programs.
5. E-RATE
ASBSD supports action by Congress and the Federal Communications Commission to strengthen the E-Rate program and improve the quality and speed of Internet connectivity in our nation’s K-12 schools; however, ASBSD opposes efforts to expand the E-Rate program to other entities until the needs of K-12 schools have been met.