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Read. Follow. Verify.South Dakota House Bill 1291 amends school district general fund base percentage calculation and fall enrollment formulas
Last action · February 9, 2026: Deferred to the 41st legislative daySponsor: Spencer Gosch
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What This Bill Proposed
House Bill 1291 modifies the statutory definitions and calculation processes for public school funding in South Dakota, specifically altering how a school district's and are determined. The bill outlines specific ratios, adjustments for English learners and alternative instruction participants, and the treatment of wind energy tax revenues.
Changes how local school districts calculate allowable general fund cash balances and state aid allocations, directly impacting district budgeting limits and operational fund thresholds across South Dakota public schools.
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.
School districts
School districts must calculate their general fund base percentage, allowable cash balances, and local need using revised enrollment and statutory formulas.
Department of Education
The secretary of the Department of Education is required to use updated fall enrollment metrics and general fund base percentage rules when computing state aid to education.
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
How is a school district's general fund base percentage determined under the bill?
What target teacher salary is established for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2025?
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 - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
6 actions- Feb 9, 2026HouseDeferred to the 41st legislative day
- Feb 9, 2026HouseCommitteeDo Pass Amended
- Feb 9, 2026HouseMotion to amend
- Feb 9, 2026HouseMotion to amend
- Feb 9, 2026HouseScheduled for hearing
- Feb 4, 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.
Refinement of General Fund Base Percentage Rules
The bill updates the mechanism for determining allowable general fund cash balances by tying the percentage to specific enrollment brackets and incorporating a multi-year lookback for fall enrollment.
Connected Entities
Sources
sdlegislature.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
- Controversy20Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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