SOUTH DAKOTA — The South Dakota Board of Education Standards approved three videos for use in public schools on Monday. This action follows Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden's signing of House Bill 1313 into law earlier this year, which mandates that public schools show students videos on prenatal development.

House Bill 1313 requires each video to be at least three minutes long and to include high-definition ultrasound footage showing brain, heart, and organ development. The videos must also trace prenatal development from fertilization through birth. The law prohibits videos from groups that perform or promote abortion. House Bill 1313 takes effect July 1, but does not specify the age of students who should watch the videos, only that they be "age appropriate."

State Education Secretary Joe Graves stated that the department vetted all three videos for scientific accuracy before submitting them to the board. "Will there be a controversy somewhere? It's possible. But I don't see it being based on there being any inaccurate information in the videos," Graves said.

One approved video is "Baby Olivia," a three-minute, 13-second video from Live Action, an anti-abortion group. This video dates an embryo's age from conception. Shannon Malone, the department's director of learning and instruction, stated that "Baby Olivia" by itself does not meet the law's requirements and must be paired with a second video.

The second option is "How a Human Embryo Develops into a Fetus," a nearly four-minute video produced by Encyclopedia Britannica. Both "Baby Olivia" and the Encyclopedia Britannica video are available for free online. The third approved option is a 42-minute DVD titled "The Biology of Prenatal Development," produced in 2006 by the Endowment for Human Development. This DVD is available for purchase for up to $29 from various sellers, making it the only recommended option that costs school districts money.

Board member Phyllis Heineman commented on the 42-minute DVD, saying, "The DVD was obviously superior." The Endowment for Human Development describes itself as a nonprofit organization focused on improving health science education and public health. Malone noted that the department will explore options to license and share the 42-minute video on its website. School districts in South Dakota must annually confirm their fulfillment of the prenatal video requirement and report which video or videos were used. No members of the public addressed the videos during the board meeting.