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Read. Follow. Verify.South Dakota Bill 1239 Requires Department of Education to Fund Teacher Salaries and Benefits
Last action · February 6, 2026: TabledSponsor: Travis Ismay
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What This Bill Proposed
The South Dakota Department of Education is required to pay the salary and benefits of every teacher employed by a school district using funds from the general bill. School districts are prohibited from employing teachers in excess of their , and the Board of Education Standards must establish a standardized salary and benefits schedule.
Shifts the funding responsibility for public school teacher compensation from local school districts directly to the state Department of Education while capping total teacher staffing levels based on enrollment formulas.
- South Dakota school districts traditionally rely on a state aid formula involving local property taxes and state appropriations to fund general education operations, including teacher salaries. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
teachers
school districts
Department of Education
The department is mandated to disburse state funds to cover all teacher salaries and benefits and compute enrollment and ratio formulas.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is responsible for paying teacher salaries under this bill?
How are teacher benefits calculated?
Are there limits on how many teachers a school district can hire?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Tabled in the House.
Procedural history
3 actions- Feb 6, 2026HouseTabled
- Feb 6, 2026HouseScheduled for hearing
- Feb 2, 2026HouseIntroducedFirst read in House and referred to
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
State-Level Funding Assumption
The bill shifts teacher compensation funding directly from local school district revenue streams to state-appropriated funds via the Department of Education.
Connected Entities
Sources
sdlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 85)
- Controversy70Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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