Environment
No direct effect
Neutral — no direct effect identified.
Benefits
- No material direct effect identified.
Risks
- No material direct effect identified.
StateSouth DakotaEnacted
HB 1187: add coaches to the list of mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect.
Mary Fitzgerald
HB 1187 status: Enacted — Signed by the Governor on 2026-03-30 H.J. 578 (updated Mar 30, 2026).
Source
OpenStates
Confidence
Low
Analysis basis
OpenStates summary
01
What this bill does
Official summary alongside an AI-generated read on where it stands and why.
Overall Score
78OUT OF 100
Score:78/100 civic fit
Risk:Low Risk
Impact:Moderate Impact 40/100
Constitutionality95%
Bipartisan80%
Public opinion90%
Bill summary
What changes
HB 1187 adds sports coaches to the list of individuals legally required to report suspected instances of child abuse or neglect to authorities.
Who is affected
Sports coaches, child protective services, and the minors participating in sports activities.
Requirements and enforcement
Coaches must now report suspected child abuse or neglect, a duty previously reserved for other professionals like doctors and educators.
Costs and funding
Not stated; potential administrative costs for training and reporting management are unknown.
When it takes effect
The bill was signed by the Governor on March 30, 2026.
Potential benefits
Expands the net of protection for minors and standardizes the reporting requirements for adults in positions of authority.
Risks and tradeoffs
Potential for increased burden on child welfare agencies and compliance challenges for volunteer coaching staff.
What is still unknown
The exact scope of the legal definition of 'coach' and whether training requirements or state-provided resources will accompany this new mandate.
02
Impact analysis
✦ AI analysisModeled effects across six domains, estimated from bill text and comparable legislation.
Economy
No direct effect
Neutral — no direct effect identified.
Benefits
- No material direct effect identified.
Risks
- No material direct effect identified.
Society
Positive outlook
80%
Benefits
- Increases protection for children in extracurricular environments
- Harmonizes reporting requirements for roles interacting with minors
- Encourages early detection of abuse by trusted authority figures
Risks
- Potential for over-reporting of benign incidents
- Administrative burden on volunteer-run youth sports programs
- Increased stress for volunteers concerned about legal liability
Technology Industry
No direct effect
Neutral — no direct effect identified.
Benefits
- No material direct effect identified.
Risks
- No material direct effect identified.
Civic Accountability
Positive outlook
70%
Benefits
- Strengthens state oversight of child protection mechanisms
- Clarifies legal duties for personnel in positions of authority
- Improves data collection on child welfare issues
Risks
- Expands state regulatory scope over non-government personnel
- Potential for implementation inconsistency across different counties
- Increased pressure on agency resources to process higher reports
Public Health & Safety
Positive outlook
85%
Benefits
- Enhances early intervention systems for child health
- Reduces long-term traumatic outcomes through earlier detection
- Provides additional eyes for detecting hidden abuse patterns
Risks
- Strain on child protective services investigation backlogs
- Potential for resource diversion from higher-risk cases
- Difficulty in training a large, often transient volunteer workforce
03
How trustworthy & consequential it is
Sourcing already shown above, this is what the analysis found worth flagging.
Source
OpenStates
Official bill text or data from OpenStates.
Confidence
Low
Information is limited or incomplete.
Analysis basis
OpenStates summary
Source used for this bill's analysis.
Source note
LegiScan returned a PDF-only document. PDF extraction is not enabled in this build, so the pipeline used a safer fallback.
Analysis scope
Source provided is a summary; full statutory text defining 'coaches' is unavailable.
04
Where it stands
Official recordSigned by the Governor on 2026-03-30 H.J. 578
- IntroducedComplete
- CommitteeComplete
- Chamber votesComplete
- Final agreementComplete
- GovernorComplete
- EnactedComplete
05
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06
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