Guest Column By Sam Kerr

Lynn, Jackson, Schultz and Lebrun Law Office School Attorney

Changes to Statutes Related to Mileage at State Rates

Effective July 1, 2024, certain provisions related to travel reimbursement were revised through HB 1060. Among those revised provisions is SDCL 3-9-1 relating to mileage reimbursement.

That statute provides:

3-9-1. Mileage reimbursement--Private vehicle on state business--Individual with special needs--Publication.

In lieu of actual transportation expenses and except as provided in § 3-9-1.1, the mileage reimbursement rate for using a privately owned motor vehicle on state business is fifty-one cents per mile or the standard mileage rate for business authorized by the United States Internal Revenue Service as of October first each year, whichever is greater. However, if no state vehicle is equipped for the transportation of a person with special needs, the mileage reimbursement rate for using a privately owned motor vehicle is based on the type of vehicle. If a privately owned passenger or cargo van, pickup truck, or sport utility vehicle is used to transport an individual with special needs for state business, the mileage reimbursement rate is sixty-eight cents per mile or one-hundred-and-thirty percent of the standard mileage rate for business authorized by the United States Internal Revenue Service as of October first each year, whichever is greater. If any other vehicle is used to transport an individual with special needs for state business, the mileage reimbursement rate is fifty-one cents per mile or the standard mileage rate for business authorized by the United States Internal Revenue Service as of October first each year, whichever is greater. For the purposes of this section, the term "individual with special needs" means a person with a disability that makes the person unable to operate an unmodified motor vehicle but allows the person to operate a personal motor vehicle modified to accommodate the disability.

The mileage reimbursement rate covers all expenses incidental to the operation of a motor vehicle.

The Bureau of Finance and Management shall publish in writing the mileage reimbursement rate to be effective as of October first each year. The state auditor shall issue warrants for using a privately owned motor vehicle on state business at the rate specified upon the sworn statement of the party using the vehicle.

Two new provisions were also added to SDCL 3-9-1, as noted below:

SDCL 3-9-1.1. Mileage reimbursement--Private vehicle on state business--Available state vehicle--Approval--Exceptions.

If an Office of Fleet and Travel Management or Department of Transportation pool motor vehicle is available within ten miles of a person's place of residence or headquarters station but the person uses a privately owned vehicle instead for state business, the mileage reimbursement rate is forty-five percent of the standard mileage rate for business authorized by the United States Internal Revenue Service as of October first each year.

The Office of Fleet and Travel Management must approve mileage reimbursement paid at the rate set pursuant to § 3-9-1 if there are Office of Fleet and Travel Management or Department of Transportation pool motor vehicles available within ten miles of a person’s place of residence or headquarters station.

This section does not apply to elected officers, departmental secretaries, and chairs of state boards and commissions. Source: SL 2024, ch. 20, § 2.

SDCL 3-9-1.2. Mileage reimbursement--Designated city area.

Upon written request of the head of a state agency or institution, the state auditor may reimburse a person using a motor vehicle on state business for mileage within a designated city area if the required travel is not compensated through the person’s salary. For the purposes of this section, the term "designated city area" means an area extending five miles beyond the municipal boundaries of Pierre, Sioux Falls, Aberdeen, Watertown, Brookings, and Rapid City. Source: SL 2024, ch. 20, § 2.

Some questions have arisen regarding mileage reimbursement provisions within SDCL 3-9-1 and that statute’s application to political subdivisions, such as public school districts. There are several provisions within Title 13 (Education) of the South Dakota Codified Laws that specifically reference the provisions of SDCL 3-9-1. For example, the following statutes require application of SDCL 3-9-1 to three specific circumstances.

SDCL 13-8-38. Travel allowance of school board members.

In addition to per diem as provided in § 13-8-37, all school board members may receive mileage at the rate set pursuant to § 3-9-1.

SDCL 13-30-3. Mileage allowance in lieu of transportation for students.

The amount of the transportation allowance is the rate established pursuant to § 3-9-1 per family for distances actually traveled in excess of five miles each way. No mileage may be paid for extra trips to the schoolhouse which the school board does not consider necessary nor for more miles than would be traveled if the shortest distance measured from the place on a publicly used road nearest the dwelling house of the child to the schoolhouse site were traveled. If children from more than one family are transported in the same vehicle mileage payments shall be paid to only one family. The school board may authorize additional miles if prior approval is obtained to facilitate cooperative efforts among families to share transportation duties. If children from more than one family are transported in a single vehicle, reimbursement shall be at rates established by the school board. However, the mileage reimbursement rate may not be less than the rate established pursuant to § 3-9-1. If, at the request of the parents, elementary children are assigned to a school that is further from the dwelling house than the nearest school, the board may limit the reimbursement to the mileage to the nearest school within the district. All claims for transportation allowance shall be filed with the school business manager not later than the close of the school fiscal year in which the travel for which reimbursement is sought actually occurred.

SDCL 13-37-8.9. Mileage allowance in lieu of transportation for special education--Actual cost in lieu of mileage--Source of payment.

If appropriate bus service is not provided by a school district, the parents or guardian of any child in need of special education or special education and related services, when legally assigned, are eligible for necessary transportation compensation for their child as determined by the individualized education program team. In no case may the mileage reimbursement rate be less than the rate established pursuant to § 3-9-1. If appropriate to maintain family bonding and if it is not practical to transport the child, mileage may be paid to the parents for trips to the facility where services are being provided to the child. In lieu of compensation for mileage, a district may pay the actual cost of transportation by common carrier or of bus service provided by contract with the facility in which the child is enrolled. The district wherein a child in need of special education or special education and related services has school residence shall pay the transportation expenses from the district's special education fund.

With respect to school district employees (Chapter 13-10), there are no statutory provisions referencing SDCL 3-9-1. However, Associated School Boards of South Dakota (ASBSD) has a model policy addressing the reimbursement that addresses mileage reimbursement.

ASBSD Policy DLC: EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS

Personnel and officials who incur expenses in carrying out their authorized duties will be reimbursed by the district upon submission of a properly filled out and approved voucher and such supporting receipts as required by the business manager. Reimbursement will be in accordance with Board approved travel allowance, which will comply with the limits established by state law.

Such expenses may be approved and incurred in line with budgetary allocations for the specific type of expense.

When official travel by personally owned vehicle has been authorized, mileage payment will be made at the rate currently approved by the Board, and in accordance with state law.

While some school district expense reimbursement policies for district employees simply provide that “travel allowances and mileage will be determined by the Board each year at the annual meeting,” those policies reviewed predate the original adoption date (2007) of the ASBSD policy noted above. Some other South Dakota school districts have policies referencing IRS rates (67 cents per mile in 2024) related to mileage reimbursement rather than the state rate.

The following is an example of such a policy:

TRAVEL EXPENSE REIMBURSEMENTS

School District employees who incur travel expenses in carrying out their authorized duties will be reimbursed by the district upon submission of a properly completed and approved voucher and such supporting documentation as required by the [business office]. Reimbursement will be in accordance with Board approved travel regulations and will comply with the rates established by the United States Internal Revenue Service.

However, most school districts surveyed in connection with this issue have policy language referencing mileage reimbursement citing to the state rate (e.g., “When official travel by personally owned vehicle has been authorized, mileage payment will be made at the rate currently approved by the Board, and in accordance with the State Board of Finance.”).

Mileage reimbursement rates established at the same rate for all district constituencies at the state rate – as provided by law and/or as board approved – have several obvious advantages to school boards (i.e., struggling to justify why district employees are reimbursed at a rate that is lower than the state rate while board members are reimbursed at the state or IRS rates, community relations, etc.).

In addition, boards need to consider reimbursement of employees for out-of-pocket expense that is in keeping within the provisions of SDCL 60-2-1, which provides as follows:

SDCL 60-2-1. Indemnification of employee by employer--Exceptions.

An employer shall indemnify an employee, except as provided in § 60-2-2 for all that the employee necessarily expends or loses in direct consequence of the discharge of the employee's duties, or of the employee's obedience to the direction of the employer, even though unlawful, unless the employee at the time of obeying such directions believed such directions to be unlawful.

With respect to mileage reimbursement, then, according to the IRS, “[t]he standard mileage rate for business use is based on an annual study of the fixed and variable costs of operating an automobile.” The state mileage rate would then be calculated to address this statute on the theory that the rate will fully compensate an employee for mileage (using a privately owned vehicle) in the discharge of the employee’s duties (including, e.g., professional development activities as approved by the employer). Therefore, by paying the state mileage rate, as it already does in other circumstances as noted above, the school district reduces potential issues associated with that statute in connection with mileage rates for district employees. Consult with your school attorney with any questions.

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 Tyler Pickner

ASBSD Director of Communications

South Dakota’s Open Meetings Law Brochure has been updated and recently published.

ASBSD encourages board members and administrators to review it to stay up-to-date on the all-important statutes.

Download the Open Meetings Law Brochure here.

The valuable guide for education leaders is a handy and very accessible tool to answer questions you may have about what’s required to comply with the state’s open meetings law.

The brochure includes descriptions of pertinent open meeting statutes and Q and A’s on open meeting topics such as email discussions, records that must be made available, recording of public meetings, executive session procedure and much more.

The brochure can also be found on ASBSD’s Documents page under the For Board Members heading.

Join fellow school leaders at the 2024 ASBSD-SASD Convention on Thursday-Friday, August 8-9 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

More than 500 fellow board members and administrators will hear from two keynote speakers – Molly Hudgens and Sean Buchanan – and have the opportunity to choose from more than 40 informative breakout sessions to attend and visit with several exhibitors about 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/.