Grade A for the Class of 2027. In June 2023, the governor signed into law a bill that requires students graduating in academic year 2026–2027 to complete a 1-unit financial literacy course in order to graduate from a public high school. Louisiana offers two pathways to graduation: a career-focused diploma, referred to as the TOPS Tech Diploma pathway, and one for college-bound students, referred to as the TOPS University Diploma pathway. Prior law required a student to complete 4 mathematics credits to be eligible for a TOPS Tech Diploma. The new law requires that the financial literacy course be one of the 4 math credits required for this diploma. Prior law required a student to complete 19 units of high school coursework to be eligible for a TOPS University Diploma. The new law retains all existing requirements and increases the total number of required units to 20, adding the new 1-unit financial literacy course requirement. The new law specifies minimum content components of the new financial literacy course.
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