The Associated School Boards of South Dakota Board of Directors is pleased to announce Heath Larson has accepted the position of ASBSD Executive Director.

Larson joins ASBSD with nearly three decades of experience in South Dakota public schools as a superintendent, principal and classroom teacher.

“With 28 years of experience in South Dakota public schools, Heath brings a passion for public education,” ASBSD President and White River School Board Member Louann Krogman said.

“Heath is a visionary leader with extensive experience. The Board of Directors welcomes Heath

Larson to the team and looks forward to working with him as we lead and support public schools in South Dakota.”

ASBSD’s new Executive Director expressed his eagerness to continue the work of the Association.

“I am excited to begin the important work as a partner, advocate, and leader for public education in our state on behalf of the Associated School Boards of South Dakota,” Larson said.

Larson’s time as a superintendent brings solid experience with public schools to the role Krogman shared.

“As a former K-12 public school superintendent, Heath Larson comes in as the new Executive Director for ASBSD with the perspective of a long-time school leader,” Krogman said, adding that “he understands the challenges and successes of public schools.”

Persisting with the vision of ASBSD is Larson’s pledge to members.

“At ASBSD, we look forward to continuing the association’s vision to provide leadership that achieves excellence for public education,” Larson said. “We will work to supply our members with excellent services for the betterment of public education and most importantly, the students we serve.”

Larson’s tenure as ASBSD Executive Director begins on August 3. He and his wife, Misty, have three children: Cade, Makenna, and Emery.

Board members and board leaders can enhance their knowledge of their roles at two workshops in August.

On Wednesday, August 7, at the Sioux Falls Convention Center, ASBSD Board Trainer Wade Pogany will host the New School Board Member Workshop and the School Board President Workshop. The cost of each workshop is $50.

Click here to register for the New School Board Member Workshop, which will run from 3-4:30 p.m.

The New School Board Member workshop will cover the responsibilities, expectations and modes of operation of school board members, including the important decisions you’ll make in the education of your district’s students, the environment of the school, being good stewards of tax dollars, as well as an outline of the dos and don’ts of board service, key laws that all board members must follow, the different funds a board oversees and much, much more.

Click here to register for the School Board President Workshop, which will run from 5 to 6:30 p.m.

The School Board President Workshop will enhance attendees’ knowledge on Roles and Responsibilities, Planning and Presiding, Meetings and Public Input, Handling Complaints, Superintendent and Board Evaluations, Rogue Board Members, Roles of a School Board and more.

If you have questions about the workshops, contact Wade at wpogany.dec@gmail.com or at 605-222-0889.

Board members registering earn 40 ALL points for your board!

If you have questions about registering, please contact Director of Communications Tyler Pickner at 605-773-8382 or tpickner@asbsd.org.

by Jessica Filler

ASBSD Director of Policy & Legal Services

The US District Court of the Eastern District of Missouri has ruled on a lawsuit that was filed by six states, including South Dakota, against the US Department of Education. The Court ruled that pending the final resolution of the case, the US DOE/Office of Civil Rights is prohibited from implementing, enacting, enforcing, or taking any action in any manner to enforce the new Title IX regulations.

As such, ASBSD will not be releasing its revised Title IX sample policy because of this court’s ruling. If and when these new regulations become effective, ASBSD will have its sample policy and web-based training opportunities ready and available for schools.

Over the last few days I’ve received numerous inquiries from school administrators wondering whether they should still follow the 2020 regulations, whether they should revise their policies and procedures to follow the new 2024 regulations, or do a combination of both.

It is the opinion of ASBSD that the 2020 regulations remain in effect until this matter winds its way through the court system. In support of our position, a Special Assistant of the Office of Civil Rights/US DOE, stated in an email, “As of July 31, 2024, pursuant to Federal court orders, the Department is currently enjoined from enforcing the 2024 Regulations in states [that include South Dakota]. The Final Rule do[es] not currently apply in those states.”

In addition, a US DOE’s bi-weekly email update states, “Pending further court orders, the Title IX regulations, as amended in 2020, remain in effect in these states [which include South Dakota].” Ultimately I would urge schools to check with their own school attorney for guidance on what version of the Title IX regulations to follow.

Attorneys Sam Kerr and Cassidy Stalley and I will be teaming up to present a break-out session on Title IX at this week’s ASBSD-SASD Convention. Hope to see you there; bring along any questions you have.

ASBSD and SASD are pleased to announce that Senator Mike Rounds will be a part of the 2024 ASBSD-SASD Convention to visit with school board members and administrators about education policy.

Sen. Rounds will speak during breakfast on Friday (8/9) at 8:00 a.m. and address the whole group and then he can engage individually following his short presentation. We will pick up the programming as scheduled at 8:30 as is listed in the program.

In addition, there will be two keynote speakers – Molly Hudgens and Sean Buchanan – more than 40 informative breakout sessions to attend and several exhibitors sharing their great services.

Click here to register for the 2024 ASBSD-SASD Convention and follow these instructions: Convention Registration Information for Individuals, to complete registration. Individuals can register only themselves while Business Managers & Superintendents can register multiple people from the district.

Convention information includes:

• Attached is a draft of the Convention schedule, which you can also find here: https://convention.asbsd.org/schedule/,
• Also attached is a PDF containing breakout session descriptions, which you can also find here: https://convention.asbsd.org/breakout-sessions/.
• Information on the keynote speakers can be found here: https://convention.asbsd.org/keynote-speakers/.
• Exhibitors and information on their services will be posted here: https://convention.asbsd.org/2731-2/.

The registration fee is $250. Districts registering 3 school board members receive a FREE registration for one administrator.

Attending Board members earn 20 ALL points for their school board and administrators earn 15 CEU’s!

A block of hotel rooms has been reserved at the:

• Sheraton (1211 N W Ave.): Click here to reserve from the block online.
• Holiday Inn & Suite Sioux Falls – Airport (2040 W Russell St.): Click here to reserve from the block online.
• Ramada Hotel (1301 W Russell Street): Call to make reservations at 605-336-1020 and use the room block name: ASBSD/SASD Joint Convention.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact ASBSD staff: https://asbsd.org/about/contact-us/.