PIERRE — Lawmakers agreed Thursday to add home-schooled students to a state-funded scholarship program in three years and open it up to other high school graduates who meet an ACT threshold but fall short in course requirements.
The House and Senate approved a compromise measure to change the Opportunity Scholarship program, which offers $5,000 over four years to students who attend a college, university or technical school in South Dakota. Students must meet performance standards in a rigorous high school curriculum and score at least 24 on the ACT to qualify.
The bill now goes to the governor.
Some House members questioned the wisdom of deepening the state's financial obligation by expanding the program.
"This is how we get in trouble, people," said Rep. Jim Bolin, R-Canton. "Feels good, nice idea, wrong time."
But Rep. Dennis Feickert, D-Aberdeen, said the state could be better off financially by the 2013 implementation date.
Rep. Thomas Brunner, R-Nisland, said he supported the bill but that he expected an attempt in the 2011 legislative session to change the effective date.
The bill as introduced by Rep. Dan Lederman, R-Dakota Dunes, would have expanded the program only to home-schooled students who, without taking the required courses in a traditional school, could qualify by scoring 26 on their ACT. Amendments raised the ACT score to 28 and expanded it to high school students who might not meet the coursework requirement but who get at least 28 on the ACT.
The changes forced the bill into a conference committee, where Lederman said home-schooled students were being ignored in the 7-year-old program.
"Home-schooled students, which is a small segment in our state, are still not represented in this," he said.
Lederman said an average of 10 home-schooled students would qualify for the scholarships each year. The Board of Regents said 6,144 students qualified through the first six years of the program.
Sen. Sandy Jerstad, D-Sioux Falls, said during conference committee debate that the scholarships should be available to high school students who can score 28 or higher on their ACT but who are otherwise disqualified because of one poor grade on a required course due to illness, a parent's death or other outside factor.
Sen. Stan Adelstein, R-Rapid City, tried unsuccessfully to break the bill into a 2011 eligibility date for home-schooled students and 2013 for the expanded high school group.
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