Grade A for the Class of 2027. On July 31, 2023, the governor signed a bill that requires, beginning with the class that graduates in 2027, that students complete, while in grades 9 through 12, one half-credit of higher education and career path skills and one half-credit of personal financial education in order to receive a high school diploma. The law authorizes the State Board of Education (BOE) to adopt rules with requirements for these two new courses. The BOE is also authorized to establish rules regarding who can teach these courses and rules that would allow these new courses to satisfy multiple credit requirements for a high school diploma, including a mathematics credit. The bill allocated $426,367 for the development of academic content standards in higher education and career path skills and in personal financial education. Allowing a financial literacy course to be taken in grades 9 and 10 is not optimal, since knowledge obtained will fade over time. The 9th and 10th grade students will not use much of what they learn until years after the instruction is completed.
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