SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) – Legislative leaders have introduced a bill allocating $4 million of state taxpayer money to alternative education, including the rising model of microschools.  House Bill 1020 would establish an educational savings account that parents can use for homeschooling and private education.  Tessa Ziemba, the founder of Genesis Academy in Sioux Falls, describes the microschool as a modern day one-room schoolhouse with smaller class sizes and multiple grades in one room. “If a kid's in second grade, but maybe they're excelling in math, they can learn fourth grade math material and not necessarily be held back by being in a 2nd grade classroom,” Ziemba said. “Same with if they're falling behind.” School voucher bill receives support from homeschools A microschool is an alternative learning environment that isn’t state-accredited. With smaller class sizes, the curriculum is more tailored to the specific needs of the group and often involves more hands-on or project-based work. Onward Learning, a microschool in Martin, South Dakota, has been teaching students under this model for three school years now. Owner and teacher Mary Jo Fairhead said families may choose a microschool over a traditional public school for more relationship-based learning.  “There's no single learning environment that works well for all kids,” Fairhead said. “To be able to offer an option that parents, families, might think will work better for their children, it's becoming more and more popular, the smaller learning environment.” Fairhead and Ziemba are both in support of House Bill 1020. Ziemba added tuition for alternative instruction can be a barrier of access for some who would benefit more outside of a traditional classroom.  If the bill passes, qualifying students would receive roughly $3,000 a year to use for homeschooling curriculum and supplies, or for tuition to a private or microschool.  Fairhead explained about 90% of the students at Onward Learning are tribally enrolled and financial assistance from the state could help students get an alternative education who normally couldn’t afford one.  “It would help our families quite a bit,” she said. “We work really hard fundraising and writing for grants to try to keep our tuition low, but we are a low-income area, so any little bit helps for our families to be able to afford this option.” Genesis Academy is set to open fall 2025. They are currently accepting student applications. Tuition starts at $605 a month or $7,260 a year. They teach kindergarten through fifth grade.  Onward Learning has 34 school age children, but Fairhead’s goal is 60. The largest ratio is 12 students to one teacher. Tuition for school aged children is $300 a month, or about $3,600 a year. They teach from age one up to eighth grade.  Fairhead said they use placement tests at the beginning of the semester and monitor student’s progress throughout the year. She said they do get formative assessments, but none of that information is sent to the state. However, they do look at the state standards to make sure they are “relatively aligned.”