South Dakota Keeps Teaching Scholarship Open Statewide, Prioritizes Two Fields

Sioux Falls, SD, October 15, 2026 —

A South Dakota board has decided to keep the state’s Critical Teaching Needs Scholarship available to prospective K-12 teachers statewide, while giving priority to applicants planning careers in special education and language arts.

The decision preserves broad eligibility rather than limiting the scholarship to candidates in those two fields. The board’s name and the date of its decision were not provided.

The policy is intended to address ongoing teacher shortages, with special education identified as a particular area of concern. The field faces high demand and turnover, according to the available information. No figures on the scale of the shortages or the scholarship’s funding were provided.

Scholarship recipients often work in areas such as the Sioux Falls metro. The information provided does not specify whether the board’s decision changes scholarship award amounts, eligibility requirements beyond the statewide access described, or recipients’ obligations after completing their training.

By keeping the scholarship open to prospective K-12 teachers across South Dakota while prioritizing applicants in special education and language arts, the board is directing added attention to those career paths without restricting the program to them. Further details about the decision and its implementation were not provided.

Story summarized from the original created by Makenzie Huber on southdakotasearchlight.com, see more information here.

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