You are here:

License to Discriminate: South Dakota Senate Bill 149

Authors

Movement Advancement Project

Recommended Citation

Movement Advancement Project. March 2017. License to Discriminate: South Dakota Senate Bill 149. https://mapresearch.org/brief/license-to-discriminate-south-dakota-senate-bill-149/ June 12, 2026.

Supporting Content

License to Discriminate: South Dakota Senate Bill 149
Learn More

The Bottom Line

Senate Bill 149 allows child-placement agencies to make placement and child treatment decisions based on their own religious beliefs, as opposed to following standards that advance the best interests of children. SB 149 would allow child-placement agencies to impose their beliefs on others and to discriminate against children and families, all while providing services paid for with taxpayer money.

Skip to PDF content

Related resources

Family Leave Laws
State family leave laws covering same-sex couples govern whether an LGBT person can take leave from work to care for their same-sex spouse or partner.
LGBTQ People
LGBTQ people in the United States have families, work hard to earn a living, pay taxes, and serve their communities and their country. MAP offers a collection of resources addressing the many aspects of LGBTQ people’s lives.
LGBTQ Families
LGBTQ families are part of the fabric of neighborhoods and communities across the United States. An estimated two million children are being raised by LGBTQ parents. Decades of research shows that children with LGBTQ parents grow up as happy, healthy and well-adjusted as their peers.
Adoption
There are more than 440,000 children in foster care across the country, with more than 125,000 children waiting to be adopted. LGBTQ people have long served as foster and adoptive parents. Research shows they are more likely to foster or adopt than their peers. Despite this, some states have passed
Talking About Family Recognition Laws & LGBTQ Families
Family recognition laws establish a secure legal relationship between a child and their parent or parents. Learn conversation approaches that help people understand why strong legal child-parent ties are essential to a child’s security and well-being and why families—no matter how they are formed—should be treated equally under the law.
Community Acceptance: Resources for Communities Working with Transgender & Gender Diverse Children

Many people don’t understand what it means to be transgender or gender diverse, so some parents or family members struggle when their child comes out as transgender or gender diverse. It is natural for parents to have questions, and this document, jointly created by the Biden Foundation, Gender Spectrum, and

The Power of Affirming Community: How Local Spaces Support LGBTQ Youth Outcomes
“Every Child Needs a Safe Place”: How Home Life Impacts LGBTQ Youth
Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds: How Providers Can Best Support LGBTQ Youth

Everyone deserves access to quality health care when they need it. For LGBTQ youth, achieving a healthy life must include being accepted and affirmed for who they are.

Join Our Community

Get research updates, stories, and ways to support.