South Dakota Senate Rejects Charter Schools
Lt. Gov. refuses to break tie vote
Lawmakers in South Dakota aren’t ready to dedicate public funds for charter schools.
KOTA-TV reports:
A proposal to allow charter schools in the state lost Thursday on a tie vote in the South Dakota Senate and failed on reconsideration Friday, after narrowly advancing out of a Senate committee.
A recent decision by the state Supreme Court confirmed Republican Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen’s authority to break Senate ties while he’s presiding over the chamber, but he sealed the bill’s fate Thursday by choosing not to cast a vote in favor of the legislation. The possibility of a tie has been ever-present this legislative session in the Senate because of the absence of Sen. Arch Beal, R-Sioux Falls, who’s been sidelined by a health problem.
South Dakota remains one of a handful of states without charter schools.
Earlier this month, the Kentucky Supreme Court ruled that charter schools violate the Commonwealth’s Constitution.
