LANSING (WWJ) – For the first time in state history, Michigan students will soon be required to take a financial literacy course in order to graduate high school.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Thursday signed House Bill 5190, which will add a half-credit personal finance course as a graduation requirement.
Ninth graders in 2024 will be the first students required to take the class prior to graduation.
The course could fulfill a half credit of the four-credit math requirement, the two-credit language other than English requirement or the one-credit visual, performing or applied arts requirement, according to Whitmer’s office.
Officials say the course could also be completed as part of an approved career and technical education program.
Whitmer says the requirement will “prepare young Michiganders for the future and empower them to take control of their finances.”
“As a mom, I want every kid who graduates in Michigan to enter the world with a diverse set of skills and knowledge, and that must include financial literacy,” Whitmer said.
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She says every young Michigander “deserves to know how to budget, save, and invest their money wisely so they can get off to a great start after high school, whether they go to college, start working, or open a small business.”
Rep. Diana Farrington, R-Utica, said the new legislation will be a “launchpad for Michigan graduates lifting off into adulthood, so they won’t be caught off guard by the financial decisions that await them.”
This is the latest step in Whitmer’s actions to improve education in Michigan, building on her proposed education budget that includes the highest per-student investment ever and more than $1 billion for school construction and renovations.
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