S.D. Admin. R. 20:45:03:02
A trainee in funeral service must complete one year's work of traineeship before being eligible for licensure. For purposes of this rule, one year's work is 12 months, either consecutive or non-consecutive, and in no event may the traineeship be less than 2,080 hours. Although the 12-month period is not required to be completed in consecutive succession, a trainee must reapply for registration if the trainee seeks to resume duties after being terminated by a sponsor, or if the trainee changes sponsors for any reason. The traineeship may be served under different funeral service licensees and in different funeral establishments licensed by the state of South Dakota. The trainee must be a citizen of the United States or a resident of South Dakota. The traineeship may be completed in one-month segments, or in special circumstances, the traineeship may be completed in segments of time that are otherwise acceptable to the board so long as the total traineeship hours are not less than 2,080 hours. The Board of Funeral Service may extend the 12 months of traineeship at its discretion for unusual circumstances.
A funeral service licensee may not sponsor more than one trainee at a time. The sponsoring funeral service licensee is fully responsible for the trainee's actions and work in funeral service. The sponsor shall notify the board immediately of the termination or temporary discontinuance of supervision of a trainee.
The trainee shall file with the board at least 25 acceptable embalming case reports on forms provided by the board for the purpose, along with 12 monthly report cards. The trainee shall assist in the direction of at least 25 funerals and present 5 sets of arrangements. All work shall be performed under the supervision of the trainee's registered funeral service sponsor or another licensee in the sponsor's establishment.
Both the sponsor and the trainee must notify the board if a traineeship is terminated. The traineeship may be reinstated if the trainee applies again to the board. A traineeship may be completed before or after completing mortuary college.
Any funeral service licensee, including a sponsor or the owner of a funeral establishment, who allows a person to do the work of a trainee when that person is not registered with the board or when that person has completed the traineeship program is subject to license revocation.
S.D. Admin. R. 20:45:03:02
General Authority: SDCL 36-19-9(3).
Law Implemented: SDCL 36-19-18.
The amended version of this section by 50 SDR 157, effective 7/2/2024 is not yet available.