{"data":{"id":"us-sd/sdcl-13-1-52","jurisdiction":"us-sd","citation":"SDCL § 13-1-52","heading":"False claims concerning academic degree--Violation as misdemeanor--Revocation of license--Evaluation of academic credentials.","body":"No person may knowingly use a false academic degree or falsely claim to have a valid academic degree for the following purposes:\n(1) To obtain employment;\n(2) To obtain a promotion or higher compensation in employment;\n(3) To obtain admission to postsecondary education; or\n(4) In connection with any business, trade, profession, or occupation.\nA violation of this section is a Class 1 misdemeanor and provides cause for the revocation of any license obtained in connection with the false degree.\nFor the purposes of this section, a false academic degree is a degree document, a certification of completion of a degree, coursework, or degree credit, including a transcript, that provides evidence or demonstrates completion of a course of instruction or coursework that results in the attainment of an associate degree or higher which is issued by a person or entity that is neither currently accredited by a regional, state, or national accrediting agency recognized by the United States Department of Education pursuant to 20 U.S.C. § 1099b as amended to January 1, 2008, nor has the foreign equivalent of such accreditation or the legal authority from a foreign country to issue degrees usable as educational credentials in the jurisdiction of issue. If a degree is granted in a jurisdiction without an accreditation system, or if a degree is accredited by a foreign entity and that accreditation is brought into question, that degree may be evaluated based on commonly recognized industry standards used to evaluate foreign academic credentials such as a credential evaluation and authentication report issued by: the World Education Services; an entity relied upon by South Dakota licensing boards; or South Dakota public postsecondary institutions.\nThe provisions of this section do not apply to any documents issued by a religious institution that offers credit or degree solely for the purpose of conferring status or authority within that religion.","path":["TITLE 13. EDUCATION","CHAPTER 13-1. STATE POLICIES AND SUPERVISION"],"source_url":"https://sdlegislature.gov/Statutes/13-1-52","current_through":"2026-08-31","vintage":"","retrieved_at":"2026-09-03T15:18:56Z","sha256":"038444bc2d25cb17b9f2f0dc8daae5a901c189d2face32c3d81cf4105f41b446","source_id":"us-sd","stale":true,"prev":"us-sd/sdcl-13-1-51","next":"us-sd/sdcl-13-1-53"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}