Amend the programs reimbursing a teacher or school counselor for earning national board certification.
HB1039 amends South Dakota’s existing incentive programs for public school teachers and school counselors who earn National Board certification. The bill keeps in place reimbursement for application and processing fees, including any available federal candidate subsidy funds, but closes the programs to new participants after July 1, 2025. For counselors, the bill continues the reimbursement program for National Certified School Counselor credentials and preserves a $2,000 annual stipend for those employed by a school district, split evenly between the Department of Education and the local district.
For teachers, the bill continues reimbursement for National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification fees and likewise ends new enrollment after July 1, 2025. It also preserves a $2,000 annual stipend for the first five years after certification, with $1,000 paid by the Department of Education and $1,000 by the employing school district. After that initial five-year period, a school district may choose to continue paying a stipend for up to five additional years, and if it does, the department must match the district’s payment up to $1,000. The Board of Education Standards is directed to adopt rules to implement the program.
The bill’s main legal effect is to modify the state statutes governing teacher and counselor certification incentives, especially by placing a sunset on new entrants while maintaining benefits for current or previously eligible participants. It does not create a new certification system; instead, it adjusts reimbursement and stipend obligations under existing education law and preserves the shared funding structure between the state and local school districts.
The overall sentiment appears broadly supportive, with the bill advancing through committees and floor votes by comfortable margins, though not unanimously. The vote history suggests general agreement on continuing incentives for highly credentialed educators while limiting future enrollment, which may reflect a compromise between supporting professional development and controlling long-term program costs. There is no committee transcript available showing detailed debate, so the specific arguments for or against the bill are not documented in the provided materials.
The main point of potential contention is the decision to stop accepting new participants after July 1, 2025, which could be viewed as reducing future access to certification incentives. Another possible issue is the continued requirement that school districts share in stipend costs, especially for districts that may be reluctant or unable to fund the local portion. No explicit opposition is recorded in the provided context, but the non-unanimous votes indicate at least some concern about the bill’s funding structure or program limits.
HB1039 amends South Dakota Codified Laws §§ 13-1-54 and 13-42-26, which govern reimbursement and stipend programs for National Certified School Counselors and National Board-certified teachers. It preserves reimbursement for certification fees and the existing stipend framework, but bars new entrants after July 1, 2025 and leaves ongoing stipend obligations tied to district participation. The bill therefore affects the Department of Education, school districts, public school counselors, and public school teachers by maintaining incentives for already-eligible professionals while phasing out future enrollment.
The bill appears to have received generally favorable treatment in the legislature, moving forward with strong committee and floor support. The vote margins suggest broad agreement with the policy goal of supporting advanced educator certification, while also limiting the state’s future financial exposure by ending new enrollments. The lack of committee transcripts limits insight into detailed debate, but the recorded votes indicate the measure was not especially controversial overall.
The most notable point of contention is the bill’s sunset on new participants after July 1, 2025, which may concern educators or advocates who want the state to continue recruiting new National Board-certified teachers and counselors. A second issue is the shared funding model, because district participation is required for some stipend payments and the state’s obligation is tied to what the district chooses to pay in later years. Any opposition likely centered on program cost, local fiscal burden, or whether the state should continue expanding certification incentives versus preserving them only for existing participants.