North Dakota’s Senate has endorsed legislation that would bar felons from serving on school boards.
The measure is being sponsored by Republican Nichole Poolman, a school teacher from Bismarck, and Richard Marcellais, a Democrat from Belcourt and a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.
The state Indian Affairs Commission requested the measure. Director Scott Davis says the bill applies to all schools, but tribal leaders are increasingly concerned about school board candidates who have a criminal past. Davis points to a woman convicted of embezzling from a district on the Fort Berthold Reservation who was elected to its school board in November.
