South Dakota majority leader says education savings account bill wouldn't pass Senate
South Dakota Searchlight
Some Republican leaders are pushing for legislative action on 'school choice' this year, but the state Senate majority leader says his chamber doesn't have the votes to support it.
Gov. Larry Rhoden, who assumed the position last month upon the exit of former Gov. Kristi Noem for a post in President Trump's cabinet, is 'kind of getting his legs under himself,' according to Sen. Jim Mehlhaff, R-Pierre.
Based on discussions with the governor, Mehlhaff said, 'we decided we just don't want to go down that bunny trail over in the Senate this time.'
'We're going to move on to other priorities,' the majority leader said during a legislative leadership press conference on Thursday at the Capitol in Pierre.
More:South Dakota House Education Committee kills both school choice, voucher bills
The push for education savings accounts took a major hit last Wednesday when two separate bills – one backed by the Governor's Office and another, more expansive proposal, were defeated in the House Education Committee.
The governor's bill was rejected in a 9-6 vote. It proposed a $4 million allocation for education savings accounts. The more expansive plan, estimated at $142 million, failed 8-7.
Support within the Senate Republican caucus is slim, Mehlhaff said.
'There was zero love for it,' Mehlhaff said, citing budget constraints and competing priorities. 'We're cutting PBS, we're cutting the state library, we're cutting maintenance and repair on our public buildings, we're cutting veterans service officers — we're cutting all over the place. There's just a lot of members in the Senate that didn't think it was appropriate to dig up $4 million to start a new program.'
House Majority Leader Scott Odenbach, R-Spearfish, said the fight will continue. House leaders are considering alternative approaches, including tax credit-based solutions that might garner broader legislative support.
'There's also a lot of people saying, 'Well, gosh, President Trump is jumping into this now, let's wait and see what he is wanting to do in that space,'' he said.
President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order directing the U.S. Department of Education to explore new funding opportunities for state-level school choice programs.
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