Is a high school course with personal finance concepts required to be taken as a graduation requirement? No, South Dakota requires high school students to take a half-year course in either personal finance or economics, but it does not require students to take or require schools to offer a personal finance course.
No policy change is pending that would change South Dakota’s grade. South Dakota’s grade could be improved to a Grade B if the graduation regulation required each student to take a half-year course that included both economics and personal finance concepts, as is currently done in many other states. South Dakota’s grade could increase to a Grade C if every high school was required to offer a stand-alone personal finance course elective. According to NGPF’s Got Finance Research, approximately 57% of high schools require a stand-alone course in financial literacy as a graduation requirement and another 40% of high schools offer students a financial literacy elective.
South Dakota does have personal finance standards applicable to the high school personal finance course, if offered or required by a school district. The standards (2015 and 2023 versions) for the high school economics course do not include substantive personal finance concepts. If offered or required, the personal finance course may be taught by mathematics, social studies, business, and family and consumer sciences educators.
Not applicable.
A school district can require students to take an economics course as a graduation requirement and not offer a personal finance course at all. The economics course is not required to contain any substantive personal finance content. It is possible for South Dakota students to graduate from high school without any financial literacy instruction. It is not clear how South Dakota measures student knowledge in financial literacy and ensures that all students have equitable access to this content.
2028