13-1-52. False claims concerning academic degree--Violation as misdemeanor--Revocation of license--Evaluation of academic credentials.
No person may knowingly use a false academic degree or falsely claim to have a valid academic degree for the following purposes:
(1)To obtain employment;
(2)To obtain a promotion or higher compensation in employment;
(3)To obtain admission to postsecondary education; or
(4)In connection with any business, trade, profession, or occupation.
A 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.
For 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.
The 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.
Source: SL 2008, ch 71, §1; SL 2014, ch 74, §1.