South Dakota: Legislature passes 2 bills on removing "aggressive students" from school

Mar 6, 2026, Lawmakers pass bills on Aberdeen learning center, aggressive students

Students who are aggressive or violent in the classroom could be sent to an alternative setting if Gov. Larry Rhoden signs two bills passed this week by South Dakota lawmakers.

Violence and verbal abuse toward teachers from students is rising, according to South

Dakota Secretary of Education Joe Graves. He cited data from the Pew Research Center that says more than two-thirds of teachers nationally have been yelled at or verbally threatened by a student.

Graves told lawmakers about concerns from educators in the state.

The Senate voted 33-1 to advance a bill that would allow a school board to send students who engage in “aggressive or violent” behavior to an alternative learning setting.

South Dakota aggressive student bill

If there is an issue, school boards could assign a student to learn at home, a different classroom or a different building.

The bill does not allow school boards to reassign students who are protected by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. But the bill should have more protections for students with disabilities, argued Cole Uecker, executive director for Disability Rights South Dakota.

Schools could “see this as an opportunity to remove children who have behaviors related to their disability,” Uecker said, “as opposed to going through the hard work of finding eligibility and coverage for special education services.”

Bill to place students in alternative learning center in Aberdeen passes

A second bill, that some supporters describe as a companion bill to the first, would give the state Department of Education $2 million to grant to a qualified nonprofit to serve as an alternative learning option for students with behavioral health concerns. That bill passed 30-4. . . .

Both bills were supported by the House of Representatives and now await final approval from Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden.

The House Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 79 on Wednesday. The bill would let a judge put a minor in Department of Corrections custody for certain gun and weapon crimes.

The judge could only do so if “no viable alternative exists,” and has found the child is at serious risk of physically harming someone. It passed the House Judiciary Committee on a 9-3 vote.