Landmark effort to raise teacher salaries earns House endorsement

HB 1048 product of extensive work, negotiating over the summer

Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash

PIERRE — Lawmakers are tired of hearing that South Dakota has some of the lowest teacher salaries in the nation.

And what’s more, they want to make sure annual raises intended for teachers are actually reaching their wallets.

That’s why the House overwhelmingly passed House Bill 1048, which would put into place a minimum teacher salary of $45,000 a year — a raise of a few thousand dollars compared to the average teacher salary in the state right now, which is consistently bottom-five in the nation. After that, districts would be required to keep teacher raises in step with what state government allocates during the annual legislative session.

School districts and boards would have until the 2026 school year to implement the new minimum salaries. After that, failure to keep raises current could result in a penalty from the state of $500 for each teacher under the minimum salary, and potential accreditation review by the Department of Education.

“We want to meet the expectations of what we set out in our budget,” said Speaker Pro Tempore Mike Stevens. “This deals with total compensation that goes up each year that goes up based on what we are setting out as a Legislature.”

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