• CHET BROKAW,Associated Press
• PIERRE, S.D. (AP) -- On tap this week in the South Dakota Legislature: a scholarship designed to attract new teachers, and a ban on cellphone use by beginning drivers.
• Here are five things to know heading into the annual session's fifth week:
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• CRITICAL-NEEDS SCHOLARSHIPS
• The Senate Education Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing Tuesday on a plan to give scholarships to college students who agree to teach in critically needed subjects for at least five years after graduation.
• Students preparing for teaching careers could get scholarships to help cover tuition and fees for their final two years in a private or public college.
• A new state board would determine which subjects are in critical need of teachers, but officials have said South Dakota needs to attract more college graduates into teaching math and science.
• General state tax revenue would be used to set up a trust fund that would finance the scholarships.
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• BEGINNING DRIVERS
• Lawmakers are looking at a package of proposals by a task force the Legislature appointed to look at teen driving safety.
• One bill would prohibit beginning drivers -- those with instruction and restricted permits -- from using cellphones while behind the wheel. Another measure suggested by the task force would set up a coordinated drivers' education system with statewide standards for course content, instruction, testing and certification of instructors.
• Task force members said South Dakota has one of the nation's highest rates of fatal crashes among young drivers.
• The Senate Transportation Committee will have hearings Monday on the bills recommended by the task force.
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