Bill requiring resources for deaf students fails in Senate
Columbia Basin Herald | UPDATED 5 years, 9 months AGO
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — A bill to require South Dakota schools to accommodate the educational needs of deaf students failed in the Senate on Wednesday, but it may be reconsidered this week.
The proposal received a narrow majority of votes, but it needed a two-thirds majority to pass because it contained a provision to give the Department of Education $370,000 to pay for the requirements.
The bill would require schools to provide teachers and specialists for deaf and hard of hearing students. The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported last year on the lack of school resources for students who are deaf and hard of hearing.
“Over the past two decades, promises have been made to address this problem, but we have failed to step up,” said Sen. Reynold Nesiba, the Sioux Falls Democrat who introduced the bill.
He indicated he may ask the Senate to reconsider the bill. If the budget allocation is struck from the bill, it would need just a simple majority vote to pass.
Opponents of the bill said they have not heard from the Department of Education that there is a problem in addressing the needs of students who are deaf and hard of hearing.