SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – A bill to establish educational savings accounts for private and homeschooled children is among the first to be introduced during the 2025 Legislative session.  The school voucher bill, House Bill 1020, would allocate an initial $4 million in general funds to be used by parents for their children’s home, private or microschool education.  State proposes $2 technology fee on vehicles This amounts to about $3,000 per student for those who apply and qualify. The money must strictly be used to purchase classroom materials, technology, testing fees or tuition at a microschool. “Since over 60% of your property tax dollars are spent on the public schools, encouraging the system to evolve, streamline and decentralize provides the only real path forward for long-term property tax relief,” said Republic Rep. Scott Odenbach, the bill’s sponsor, in a news release. “It’s also just the right thing to do for the thousands of taxpayers who want alternative education options for their children.” Along with Odenbach, Republican Sen. Jim Mehlhaff, the bill's sponsor in the Senate, said the proposed bill allows "all parents to have agency in the education of their children, regardless of their financial means." South Dakota Department of Education Secretary Joseph Graves also gave his support to the bill. "Education savings accounts unleash the positive, powerful forces of competition in the educational marketplace," Graves said in a news release. Gov. Kristi Noem recommended the $4 million allocation during her 2025 budget address. She said low-income students should take priority for funding, but once the program is running, they plan to make the funds available for all students  “It’s important to remember that South Dakota supports all students,” Noem said during her address. “We want those students to receive the education that’s best for them and to have the freedom to do so. I look forward to working with both legislative chambers to get this done.” Education groups across the state have come out against school vouchers, saying it will take away already tight funds from public schools in the state. “We envision that it is going to have to come from the general fund which would be all K-12 education, which would mean less revenues going out to school districts across the state,” Rob Monson, the Executive Director of the School Administrators of South Dakota, told KELOLAND News. Incoming Sioux Falls School District Superintendent Jamie Nold KELOLAND News this week he opposes school vouchers in South Dakota. “The hard part about that is any time there’s a set amount of money, you add a new program in it’s going to take money from somewhere. It has to, there’s no question about that,” Nold said.