Daniel Prince
Course will be half a credit; new requirement will only affect incoming freshmen
Starting next school year, incoming freshmen will be required to take a half-credit course in personal finance as a requirement to graduate. A provision in last year’s state budget asked the SC Department of Education to develop regulations to add the course. In November, the State Board of Education approved the requirement. The Office of Career and Technical Education and Student Transition Services is finalizing the course standards and field review, and later this month it will seek approval from the State Board of Education. Information will be distributed to the school districts across the state in April. Professional development for teachers will be offered at the 2023 Education Business Summit in June. In addition to the half-credit personal finance course, they will identify current 1-unit courses that will also meet the graduation requirement. State Legislature will have to change the regulation regarding graduation requirements during its current session. Instead of 7 credits of electives required for graduation, 6.5 credits will be required. Again, the requirement will only affect incoming freshmen starting next year. Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors will not have that requirement. It is not clear if they could choose to take the course as an elective.