Week 2 - Legislative Update

Representative John Shubeck | District 16

South Dakota Legislature

House of Representatives

Originally Posted on Facebook: January 24, 2026

This week the South Dakota House of Representatives really got into full swing with votes on several bills. Two bills that I have supported in committee and on the floor dealt with education. HB 1078 dealt with agriculture education and HB 1034 dealt with physical education.

House Bill (HB) 1078 sought to streamline the process by which Agricultural Education courses can be used to satisfy the science requirement for high school graduation. A student currently must take Biology and two other science elective courses in order to graduate. There is a list of over 30 potential elective courses in areas ranging from computer science to forensic sciences. There are currently no agriculture science courses that are approved to meet this graduation requirement.

Under the current rules, agriculture science courses such as Plant Science, Horticulture, and Animal Science can all satisfy the science requirement if the agriculture teacher personally designs the entire curriculum and submits it to the department of education for approval. Designing an entire course and then waiting it through the bureaucracy of the department of education is a difficult process for a teacher to take on top of everything else that they do. We need to have agricultural science courses designed and approved by the department of education that automatically meet the elective requirements for graduation and that is what HB 1078 sought to do.

This is a bill that I would like to see passed, not just because I am a farmer, or just because I have a daughter currently taking a horticulture course, but also because I am a product of Agriculture Science Education. After serving as an officer in the Marines I used my GI Bill and went back to school and completed a Masters degree in Plant Science from SDSU. I am passionate about agricultural education and I can assure you that agricultural science programs are a perfect supplement to Biology or Chemistry. Those science never became more clear to me than when I saw them applied to agriculture. Because of my experiences, I want to create more opportunities for kids to explore professions in ag. This bill got a majority of the votes on the floor, but there were several members missing, so it didn’t pass. We will hopefully rehear this bill at a later date and I again will speak in favor of this bill.

The other education bill that I am supporting (HB 1034) will allow participation in high school athletics to count towards graduation requirements for physical education. On top of everything else in life, I am a high school track and field coach. Our state has the second highest school sports participation in the nation and our kids should be applauded for that. I am constantly amazed at the amount of time that our students put into extracurricular activities. The life lessons that are accumulated through those experiences are invaluable. Many of our student athletes are putting in 60 hour weeks with school, practices, and games. I firmly believe that these students should be granted a half credit of physical education for all the time and effort that they put in. This bill will not take the place of physical education for all students or even all districts, but it will be an option, just like AP English is an option.

Those were the two bills that I was most passionate about from last week. This next week I will present HB 1064 which will make it easier for livestock producers to direct market their meat to consumers. I will keep you updated as much as possible on Facebook. Additionally, please email me with any questions or come out and meet your state representatives in Parker on February 14th at 9:30 or Canton on February 14th at 1:00.

Representative John Shubeck

South Dakota District 16