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Sioux Falls district to seek state waiver letting middle schoolers earn high-school math credit
Summary
The Sioux Falls School District voted June 9 to acknowledge a public hearing and direct administrators to reapply to the South Dakota Department of Education for a waiver that would let a limited number of middle school students earn high-school credit for Algebra I, accelerated geometry and accelerated Algebra II before grade 9.
The Sioux Falls School District Board of Education on June 9 voted to acknowledge a public hearing and direct the administration to reapply to the South Dakota Department of Education for a waiver that would allow certain middle school students to earn high-school credit for Algebra I, accelerated geometry and accelerated Algebra II prior to entering ninth grade.
The waiver, presented by district staff member Kristin Grenager, is designed to support students who “demonstrate advanced proficiency in mathematics,” Grenager told the board. If the district’s application is approved by the state, the waiver would take effect July 1 and run through February of the waiver period, she said.
Board Chair (presiding officer) opened a public hearing and invited comment; no members of the public spoke, the chair said, before the board closed the hearing and moved to direct administration to pursue the waiver. The board then voted by voice to approve the action.
Why it matters: The waiver creates a formal pathway for acceleration in the district’s math sequence, letting middle school students complete courses that would otherwise count toward a later high-school diploma program. District leaders framed the request as part of broader acceleration and pathway options the district offers to students.
Details presented: Grenager told the board the waiver is a recurring request the district has held for years and that it targets students who show advanced mathematics proficiency. The board’s public-hearing record shows no callers or speakers objecting or offering comment at the hearing. During discussion, a board member praised the district’s “wonderful pathways” and linked the waiver to other programs the board had heard about at the meeting.
Action taken: The board moved and approved a motion to acknowledge the hearing and direct administration to pursue the waiver from the South Dakota Department of Education. The motion was carried by voice vote; the transcript records the outcome as passed but does not record individual vote tallies or the name of the motion’s mover.
Next steps: The administration will prepare and submit the district’s waiver application to the South Dakota Department of Education and implement procedures if and when the waiver is approved by the state. The board’s action on June 9 was procedural—acknowledging the hearing and authorizing pursuit of the waiver rather than approving individual student placements.
