NESC was the coordinator for Region One ESA (Education Service
Agency) in South Dakota. Originally established in 2004, ESAs assisted
public school districts by offering
technical assistance, data analysis, school improvement, and
other professional development related to federal and state legislative
mandates.
In 2017 our state legislature voted to repeal its ESA laws through
House Bill 1022. The main reason was a lack of consistent funding
for ESA programs, but another factor was that cooperatives could
already deliver supplemental educational services without the need
for additional legal authority. Although Region One ESA is no longer
supported through State government, NESC's teaching and learning specialists
have continued to provide many of those same services.
Map of
South Dakota's Historical ESAs: