Hagan Harvey scholarship board approves four awards for 2026–27, names recipients and seeks legal guidance on homeschool eligibility

The Hagan Harvey Memorial Scholarship Board approved awarding four scholarships and naming one alternate for the 2026–27 academic year after a review of the scholarship fund's balance and projections, board members said.

Board members said Melissa, a Department of Education staff member who presented the financials, told the group the current revenue line was "the $39,140.67" and that "funds available to grant is $79,869.79." She walked the board through scenarios showing how awarding two, three or four recipients this year would affect the fund over the next several award cycles.

"If you award four this year and kept that up every year moving forward, this is what your totals would be," Melissa said while demonstrating spreadsheet models; she also said finance "recommended planning on 1%" interest for conservative budgeting. Board members discussed the risk that students in years three and four sometimes drop out or transfer, which can affect future outlays.

Board member Wagner moved that the board "award 4 scholarships and have an alternate of 1" for academic year 2026–27; the motion was seconded and approved by the board. The board announced the four recipients by name and the alternate: Roy; Hayden Thompson; Marley Wells; and Kylan West were named as award recipients, with Carter Burrell selected as the alternate. The awards are contingent on each recipient returning an acceptance letter and submitting a final transcript and university verification, which staff said must be received before payment requests are issued this summer.

The meeting also included a statutory review of eligibility. Melissa read portions of South Dakota codified law and administrative rule that define eligibility criteria, including that recipients must be an enrolled member of an American Indian tribe and that funds must be paid to a South Dakota accredited institution. Several board members raised questions about whether homeschool graduates meet the requirement "to have graduated from a South Dakota accredited high school" and suggested that, if the board wanted to expand eligibility, it might require test scores; one member argued "there's no accountability" in some home‑school records.

The board asked staff to seek legal counsel to clarify the meaning of the statute and rule—specifically whether the terms "consecutive" enrollment and "graduated from an accredited school" permit homeschooled applicants to qualify. Melissa told the board she would request that clarification and bring guidance back in writing.

Staff described operational steps and deadlines: the DOE-hosted Hagan Harvey application will remain available online, outreach will continue via school counselors and a press release, and the application deadline was set for Feb. 26, 2027 (postmark if mailed). Staff also reviewed that funds for continuing recipients will be paid only after required documentation is received and that last year some awards were delayed because paperwork arrived late.

The board moved into executive session to review candidate files and returned to announce the selections. The board adopted a motion to include an alternate this year and signaled it will revisit the number of awards annually based on interest returns and enrollment trends.