South Dakota teachers learn more about new social studies standards at Northern State University

Teachers won’t begin teaching students South Dakota’s newest set of social studies standards for two more years — not until the 2025-2026 school year begins — but that two-year timeline hasn’t stopped teachers from wanting to familiarize themselves with the new standards.

That’s why 28 teachers from around the state enrolled in a recent course at Northern State University to learn more about “the American Founding and Civil Rights.”

The courses are one of several ways education officials across the state have worked to familiarize teachers with the new standards, implemented in April following a series of four public hearings across the state and thousands of public comments, the majority of which were in opposition to the new standards.

While these courses were an independent effort by NSU, the South Dakota Department of Education has also hosted a summit and road trips for teachers to familiarize themselves with the new standards and what they’ll begin teaching in two years’ time.

More: South Dakota teachers embark on first-ever history road trips by Department of Education

Curriculum in the two one-hour courses held earlier this month was “designed to be adaptable to various educational standards, ensuring its relevance across different grade levels,” according to a statement from NSU communications director Chad Hatzenbuhler and Jon Schaff, a government professor at NSU and a member of the workgroup that created the new standards.

The courses were open to all elementary and secondary teachers for $40 for one hour of credit, and consisted of a one-day in-person workshop at NSU with the remainder of curriculum delivered online. Offerings like this are typically used by teachers for continuing education credit.

Four NSU faculty taught the courses. DOE public information specialist Nancy Van Der Weide said the DOE was “delighted” to hear NSU saw the need for such a course and offered it, but clarified it was developed without any DOE funding or involvement “other than working from the standards themselves.”

More: What we know about the South Dakota Department of Education's Civics & History Summit

The South Dakota Board of Regents has established expectations and standards associated with teaching courses for academic credit within the system, but they don’t approve each individual course offering, Hatzenbuhler and Schaff said.

NSU didn’t respond to an Argus Leader question seeking to speak with some of the professors who taught the course, or teachers who took the course, to see what was taught. NSU would also not share what districts some of the teachers who took the course came from, or what they taught, citing student registration privacy.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Northern State University offers course on social studies standards