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26.713.12 101st Legislative Session 190
2026 South Dakota Legislature
Senate Bill 190
HOUSE STATE AFFAIRS ENGROSSED
Introduced by: Senator Grove
Underscores indicate new language.
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An Act to codify the rights of a parent. 1
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA: 2
Section 1. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26: 3
A state agency or any political subdivision of this state may not substantially 4
burden the fundamental right of a parent to direct the upbringing, education, health care, 5
and mental health of the parent's minor child, without demonstrating that the burden 6
imposed on the parent is required by a compelling governmental interest as applied to the 7
parent and the parent's minor child and is the least restrictive means for furthering that 8
compelling governmental interest. 9
Section 2. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26: 10
The right of a parent with regard to the parent's minor child include the right to: 11
(1) Direct the upbringing of the parent's minor child; 12
(2) Direct the moral and religious training of the parent's minor child; 13
(3) Except as otherwise provided in section 5 of this Act, make and consent to all 14
physical and mental health care decisions for the parent's minor child; 15
(4) Access and review all medical records of the parent's minor child; 16
(5) Direct the education of the parent's minor child; 17
(6) Access and review all written and electronic educational records relating to the 18
parent's minor child, which are in the possession of a school, as provided in section 19
7 of this Act; 20
(7) Have the parent's minor child excused from school attendance for religious 21
purposes; 22
(8) Participate in parent -teacher organizations and other school organizations 23
sanctioned by the board of a school district; 24
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(9) Be notified promptly if an employee of the state reasonably believes that abuse, 1
neglect, or other criminal offense has been committed against the parent's minor 2
child by someone other than the parent, unless doing so would interfere with a 3
criminal or other investigation; 4
(10) Consent before a biometric scan of the parent's minor child is performed, shared, 5
or stored; 6
(11) Consent before any record of the blood or deoxyribonucleic acid of the parent's 7
minor child is created, stored, or shared, unless authorized pursuant to a court 8
order; and 9
(12) Consent before any state agency or political subdivision of this state makes a video 10
or audio recording of the minor child, unless the video or audio recording is made 11
as part of: 12
(a) A court proceeding; 13
(b) A law enforcement investigation; 14
(c) An interview conducted as part of a criminal or other investigation; 15
(d) A surveillance or other security system; 16
(e) A photographic identification card; or 17
(f) A public event where the minor child has no reasonable expectation of 18
privacy. 19
Nothing in this section may be construed to permit a parent to abuse or neglect 20
the parent's minor child, as defined in § 26-8A-2, or to end the life of the parent's minor 21
child. 22
Section 3. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26: 23
Except for a law enforcement officer in the conduct of a criminal investigation or 24
as otherwise provided by law, an employee of this state or a political subdivision of the 25
state may not: 26
(1) Encourage or coerce a minor child to withhold information from the minor child's 27
parent; or 28
(2) Withhold from a minor child's parent information that is relevant to the physical, 29
emotional, or mental health of the parent's minor child. 30
Section 4. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26: 31
26.713.12 3 190
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Except as provided in section 5 of this Act, a person, private entity, state agency, 1
political subdivision of this state, or employee of a state agency or political subdivision 2
must obtain the consent of a minor child's parent before: 3
(1) Procuring, soliciting, arranging, providing a referral for, or performing: 4
(a) A surgical procedure upon the minor child; 5
(b) A medical examination of the minor child; 6
(c) A mental health evaluation, in a clinical or nonclinical setting, of the minor 7
child; or 8
(d) Any mental health treatment for the minor child; or 9
(2) Prescribing or dispensing any prescription medication to the minor child. 10
A parent may provide a person, entity, state agency, political subdivision of this 11
state, or employee of a state agency or political subdivision written, informed consent to 12
perform an action requiring consent, pursuant to this section. 13
Section 5. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26: 14
Notwithstanding the requirements of section 4 of this Act, a licensed physician or 15
other health professional, acting within the professional's scope of practice, may: 16
(1) Perform an examination of a minor child to determine whether, in the opinion of 17
the treating physician or health professional, exercising competent medical 18
judgement, the minor child requires emergency medical care and services; or 19
(2) Perform any of the actions listed in section 4 of this Act to a minor child without 20
the consent of the minor child's parent if: 21
(a) The licensed physician or health professional is permitted to perform the 22
action under § 20-9-4.2; 23
(b) The minor is accompanied by an individual who has documentation signed 24
by the minor child's parent authorizing the individual to make decisions 25
regarding the minor child's health care; or 26
(c) The licensed physician or health professional relies in good faith on the 27
representation of an individual, that the individual has been granted 28
authority by the minor child's parent to make decisions regarding the minor 29
child's health. 30
Section 6. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26: 31
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The board of a school district, shall, in consultation with parents, teachers, and 1
administrators, adopt a policy to promote the involvement of parents of minor children 2
enrolled in the school district. The policy must include: 3
(1) A plan for parent participation in the school to improve parent and teacher 4
cooperation in areas of homework, attendance, and discipline; and 5
(2) The process by which a parent: 6
(a) Reviews the curriculum offered to the parent's minor child or is otherwise 7
informed about the course of study provided to the parent's minor child; 8
(b) May learn about the nature and purpose of clubs or other extracurricular 9
activities that have been approved by the school; 10
(c) Withdraws the parent's minor child from a school club or extracurricular 11
activity; 12
(d) Is notified of, and consents to having the parent's minor child receive, any 13
instruction in or presentation on human sexuality, human sexual behavior, 14
an understanding of an individual's identity disconnected from or 15
inconsistent with the biological reality of an individual's sex, or the idea that 16
an individual is able to identify with a gender that corresponds to an 17
individual's internal and subjective sense of self, disconnected from the 18
biological reality of the minor's sex; 19
(e) May object to any specific instruction or presentation provided to the 20
parent's minor child; 21
(f) May withdraw the parent's minor child from any specific instruction or 22
presentation if the parent considers the instruction or presentation harmful 23
to the parent's minor child; and 24
(g) Provides consent before the parent's minor child may use a name or 25
nickname other than the minor child's legal name or a derivative or 26
diminutive of the minor child's legal name. 27
Section 7. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26: 28
Except as provided in § 26-8A-13, a school district shall allow the parent of a minor 29
child enrolled in the school district to access all written and electronic records concerning 30
the parent's minor child that are in the possession of the school district, a district 31
employee, or other person hired, contracted, or authorized by the school district to provide 32
services to the parent's minor child. 33
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Section 8. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26: 1
Except as provided in § 26-8A-13, an employee of a school district may not 2
withhold or conceal information from or facilitate, encourage, or coerce a minor child to 3
withhold or conceal information from, the minor child's parent about the minor child's: 4
(1) Curricular or extracurricular projects, assignments, or activities; 5
(2) Physical, emotional, or mental health; or 6
(3) Purported identification with a gender that corresponds to the minor child's internal 7
and subjective sense of self, disconnected from the biological reality of the minor 8
child's sex. 9
Section 9. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26: 10
A parent may submit a written complaint to the board of a school district, detailing 11
any violation of sections 6 to 8, inclusive, of this Act. The parent is entitled to a meeting 12
with the superintendent of the school district to discuss the complaint. The superintendent 13
shall investigate the complaint and respond to the parent in writing within fourteen days 14
of receiving the complaint. The response provided by the superintendent must describe 15
the actions that the district is to take in order to remedy the parent's complaint. 16
A parent may appeal the actions of the superintendent to the board of the school 17
district by submitting a written complaint detailing the violation of sections 6 to 8, inclusive 18
of this Act and a description of how the actions taken by the superintendent failed to 19
resolve the complaint. The board shall investigate the complaint and shall meet with the 20
parent to discuss the complaint. The board shall adopt a plan of action to remedy the 21
complaint at the first meeting of the board following receipt of the complaint. 22
If the board's plan of action does not remedy the parent's complaint, the parent 23
may file suit and assert a violation of sections 6 to 8, inclusive, of this Act as a claim 24
against the school district. A parent who successfully asserts a claim or defense under this 25
section may recover declaratory relief, injunctive relief, liquidated damages of five 26
thousand dollars per violation, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, and any other 27
appropriate relief. 28
Section 10. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26: 29
For the purposes of sections 6 to 9, inclusive, of this Act, "school district" does not 30
include any public institution of higher education, provided that the parent of a minor child 31
retains the parent's rights under this Act and any other applicable federal law, as applied 32
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to a school district, if the parent's child is enrolled in a dual enrollment course offered by 1
the school district and a public institution of higher education. 2
Section 11. That a NEW SECTION be added to a NEW CHAPTER in title 26: 3
A parent may bring suit for a violation of this chapter and may raise this chapter 4
as a defense in any judicial or administrative proceeding, without regard to whether the 5
proceeding is brought by or in the name of the state, a private person, or other party. 6
A parent who successfully asserts a claim or defense under this chapter may 7
recover declaratory relief, injunctive relief, compensatory damages, reasonable attorneys' 8
fees and costs, and any other appropriate relief. 9
A state agency or political subdivision of this state shall indemnify the employees 10
of the state or political subdivision for any liability incurred by the employee and for any 11
judgement entered against the employee for claims arising under this chapter. A state 12
agency or political subdivision of this state is not required to indemnify an employee if the 13
employee was convicted of a criminal violation for the conduct from which the claim arises. 14