This bill amends South Dakota's laws regarding property tax levies for school districts and the state aid formulas for general and special education. It establishes new maximum tax levies for school districts, setting them at $5.21 per thousand dollars of taxable valuation for the general fund, $1.12 for agricultural property, and $2.51 for owner-occupied single-family dwellings, effective for taxes payable in 2026 and beyond. Additionally, the school board is permitted to levy a maximum of $1.46 for special education funding starting in 2026. The bill also revises definitions and calculations related to education funding, including a target teacher salary of $62,821.19 for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025, with future increases tied to the consumer price index.

Furthermore, the bill introduces amendments to special education funding definitions and calculations, defining "nonpublic school" and establishing "nonpublic fall enrollment" for alternative instruction students. It details how to calculate "local need" for special education funding, including multipliers for students with varying disabilities and provisions for extraordinary expenses. Key changes include replacing "costs" with "expenses" in the local need calculation and adjusting the denominator for the "effort factor" from $1.288 to $1.264, while maintaining a maximum effort factor cap of 1.0. These changes aim to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of funding mechanisms for special education, ensuring they meet the needs of students with disabilities and the financial capabilities of school districts.

Statutes affected:
Introduced, 01/09/2025: 10-12-42, 13-13-10.1, 13-37-16, 13-37-35.1