South Dakota Schools Gain Federal Education Flexibility, With Limits

South Dakota received two federal approvals on July 24, 2026, giving the state more discretion over selected federal education funds and allowing districts and schools to seek certain waivers through the state.

The approvals do not redirect all federal education money, eliminate federal accountability rules or automatically change every district’s budget. Their practical effect will depend on South Dakota procedures, future waiver requests and annual reporting.

What the state can consolidate

The U.S. Department of Education approval letter permits South Dakota to consolidate state-level activities funds from five federal programs for Federal Fiscal Years 2026 through 2029:

• Title I, Part B, for state assessment activities
• Title II, Part A, for supporting effective instruction
• Title III, Part A, for English language acquisition
• Title IV, Part A, for student support and academic enrichment
• Title IV, Part B, for 21st Century Community Learning Centers

The federal department described the covered amount as more than $19 million. That figure is not a guaranteed annual allocation to districts or classrooms. It refers to funds reserved for state-level activities that South Dakota may consolidate and use for allowable purposes within the covered programs.

South Dakota officials said the flexibility will support priorities including literacy, family engagement and mathematics instruction. The state announcement also cited the Science of Reading and new common-sense math standards as initiatives that could guide how the flexibility is used.

What districts and schools may request

South Dakota also received Ed-Flex authority through the 2030-31 school year, provided the state continues to meet applicable federal requirements. Ed-Flex allows the state education agency to approve selected waiver requests from individual school districts and schools without first seeking approval from the federal department.

One issue involves Title I carryover. The South Dakota announcement says the authority can remove the normal limit on how much of a district’s Title I allocation may be carried over from one year to the next. That creates a pathway for a district to seek flexibility; it is not an automatic change to every district’s Title I budget.

The federal approval letter makes clear that Ed-Flex does not give South Dakota blanket authority to waive requirements that apply to the state education agency. District-level waivers must also continue meeting the underlying purposes of the affected federal program and follow the approved state process.

Rules that remain in force

The approval letter lists several areas that cannot be waived through the state’s Ed-Flex authority. They include standards, assessments and accountability requirements; maintenance of effort; comparability of services; parental participation; equitable participation by private-school students and staff; distribution of funds to local education agencies; supplement-not-supplant rules; applicable civil-rights requirements; and requirements that apply directly to the state education agency.

Those limits matter because the new authority changes how some programs may be administered, not whether schools must meet core federal obligations. The department’s Ed-Flex guidance likewise describes the program as a limited waiver framework rather than a blanket exemption from federal education law.

What to watch next

The federal approval requires South Dakota to submit annual reports by October 30 covering how the consolidation reduced administrative burden, how the state used the funds, how spending differed from earlier practices and how the waiver contributed to academic achievement.

For residents, parents and school employees, the next meaningful developments will be state implementation guidance, district waiver requests and decisions, and reports showing where the flexibility was used. The July 24 approval establishes authority; it does not yet document specific district-level spending changes or academic results.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Education approval letter
• South Dakota governor and Department of Education announcement