A bill to increase funding for English as a Second Language education in South Dakota schools is moving through the state Legislature with bi-partisan support. District 22 Representative Peggy Gibson of Huron says, no one testified against Senate Bill 159 at a hearing last week. She expects the biggest challenge to the E-S-L funding bill to be the appropriations committee…
Representative Dick Werner of Huron sits on the appropriations committee and says they need to keep the momentum of the bill moving…
Senator Jim White of Huron also holds a seat on appropriations and says the bill is part of the workforce initiatives set forth by Governor Dennis Daugaard last year…
White says the bill also gives back to the schools because of the added work force being supplied by English learners leading to an increase in sales tax revenue…
SB 159 will provide school districts about one-thousand 115 dollars per student through the state funding formula to educate students not fluent in English.