MITCHELL, SD (Mitchell Now) — South Dakota legislators want closer oversight of the Department of Education as student performance lags, and department leaders say they welcome the scrutiny.

The Legislature’s Government Operations and Audit Committee, known as GOAC, voted to review the department’s performance every year instead of the minimum once every three years. The decision follows a recent presentation to lawmakers that showed reading scores below expectations, with nearly half of students reading below grade level, Education Secretary Joe Graves told the committee, according to reporting by The Dakota Scout.

Sen. Chris Karr of Sioux Falls, a GOAC member, pushed for the more frequent review after hearing the department’s performance metrics.

“When we have somebody who’s failing at every single metric, and I didn’t hear the secretary say that we should change those metrics,” Karr said. “He didn’t say we should decrease them, he said the opposite. He said, hold us accountable, hold the standard high, that’s what we should be doing.”

Graves has said the department is working on changes aimed at improving student achievement in reading and other areas.

Karr also told the committee he plans to introduce legislation during the 2026 legislative session to create a uniform statewide policy on student cell phone use in schools, adding another area where lawmakers may seek consistency and accountability in South Dakota classrooms.