Petition signatures turned into the Secretary of State’s office were verified earlier this week, and voters will decide in November the fate of House Bill 12-34 – the teacher incentive plan.  Teachers and other supporters submitted just under 31-thousand petition signatures to the Secretary of State's office in a bid to have voters make the call on the bill. Only 16-thousand were needed.  The bill will be on the ballot as 'Referred Law 16.'  Sandra Waltman with the South Dakota Education Association says teachers do not think the new law is good for students.



The bill as passed by the legislature would give bonuses to certain math and science teachers, and grants to college students going into teaching. Waltman says they want the debate to focus on students, not teachers and pay.



Waltman says they feel the bill creates the opposite of local control, which all sides say they support.



Governor Dennis Daugaard, who proposed the original bill, said in a statement: “Now that this has been placed on the November ballot, we can look forward to a discussion as to how best to advance student achievement, reward great teaching, and attract more good teachers to the profession."