STATE OF SOUTH DAKOTA
OFFICE OF
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

June 13, 1968

Tony Weisensee
State’s Attorney, Lincoln County
Canton, South Dakota 57013

OFFICIAL OPINION NO. 67-68 pg. 491

Schools & School Districts. School Districts contracting with other school districts to operate a school.

You have requested an opinion on the following factual situation:

"The Virginia Joint School District #72 has appealed the Lincoln County Board of Education decision to attach them to Hudson Independent District #3 under Section 15.2018 (4). This is a joint district between Union and Lincoln Counties. The members of the district wish to be attached to Scott District #69, Union County, South Dakota, a common school district reorganizing as an independent school district with intentions of sending pupils to 12-year schools operating outside the district.

"At the present time about half the students from District #72 go to Hudson, S. and the other half go to Hawarden, Iowa. Under the planned attachment to School District they would continue at these present schools. The question has been raised, however, if the 12-year school referendum passes this fall, and all schools in South Dakota become 12-year districts could the students wishing to go to Hudson continue to do so under the new law if they belonged to Scott District?

"In other words, could Scott District, which would be contracting to Hawarden, Iowa, also contract to a 12-year district with the State of South Dakota?"

SDC 1960 Supp. 15.3302 as amended by Chapter 69, Session Laws of 1963 reads in part as follows:

"16.3302 Assignment of students: high school privileges. The independent school board shall have authority to assign and distribute the resident students eligible for a secondary education among the high schools in the district. If a student lives more than ten miles from the nearest high school being operated in his own district and bus service or dormitories are not provided said student, the school board shall assign and pay the tuition for the student to any public school or any state institution offering high school subjects in this state or any other state which the student's parent or guardian requests; provided that this provision shall not apply in counties operating a county high school created prior to this act…”

“…School districts entering into contractual agreements herein specified shall be considered as operating a school whether or not the school is located within the boundary of such district, and the district shall be a common or an independent school district depending upon the type of educational program supported as  the result of such contract agreement."

It is my opinion that Scott District No. 69 would be subject to the above statutes and secondary students living more than ten miles from the school site could attend a school in another school district and that it would be discretionary with the Scott District No. 69 whether to assign students living within ten miles of the school site to attend a school other than the Hawarden School provided there were no other limitations in the contract with the Hawarden school district.