JAG-South Dakota was piloted at Wagner Community School and Andes Central High School during the 2009-2010 school year. By the third year, the South Dakota Office of Indian Education began overseeing JAG-SD. Three programs were active in districts located within American Indian Reservations.
In 2012, four JAG Multi-Year program students from Wagner High School spoke at the National Indian Impacted Schools Association Annual Conference in Las Vegas and shared how the JAG program has helped them in being prepared for the future.
JAG-SD ebbed and flowed through the years. 2014 brought an expansion of JAG-SD along with the first state Student Leadership Conference. During the 2017-18 school year, six high schools and two middle schools had 237 students participating in their schools’ JAG programs.
Resilient JAG-SD Specialists and students have kept JAG-SD progressing. In October 2019, after a moving visit to Wagner, SD, and subsequent emotional testimonial during the 2019-20 legislative session, Governor Noem fully funded a state director to help support and increase the impact of JAG-SD.