Sun Prairie staff recommends adding 0.5 personal finance credit for class of 2028, keeping total credits at 25

Dr. Sarah Chaiaclardi, presenting under the superintendent’s report, told the Sun Prairie Area School District Board of Education that Wisconsin Act 60 requires a standalone 0.5 credit in personal finance for students graduating in the class of 2028.

The recommendation from a district committee of teachers, administrators and student representatives would keep the district’s overall graduation requirement at 25 credits by reducing required elective credits from 10 to 9.5 and creating a separate 0.5-credit personal finance category beginning with the class of 2028. The board is expected to consider the policy changes on June 9; the district would revise Board Policy IKF and Procedure IKF-R if the board approves the recommendation.

Why it matters: Act 60 makes the half-credit a standalone course rather than content embedded in another class, and the Department of Public Instruction requires that any teacher of the course be DPI-licensed. The district must decide which department will offer the course, how to schedule it for students in grades 9–12, and how to avoid creating barriers for at-risk students or transfers from districts with different credit requirements.

"Wisconsin Act 60, which was created in December of 2023, mandates that a 0.5 stand alone credit in personal finance be obtained by each graduate beginning with the class of 2028," Dr. Chaiaclardi said. She said Act 60 lists required topic areas that must be included in the half-credit course: financial mindset; education and employment; money management; saving and investing; credit and debt; and risk management and insurance.

Dr. Chaiaclardi described the committee that reviewed the statute and local implications: 26 teachers with representation from the business, family and consumer science, and social studies departments; administrators from East and West High Schools; and four student school board representatives. That team discussed whether to keep economics as a required social studies course, which department should house personal finance, the grade levels to offer the course, staffing and any financial impact, and special considerations for Sun Prairie Virtual School and students in Madison College’s STEM Academy.

The committee recommended keeping economics as a required social studies course and placing the standalone personal finance course in the business department. "The team was also pretty universally aligned in keeping personal finance as a business department course," Dr. Chaiaclardi said. The committee also recommended keeping the personal finance course open to grades 9 through 12 so students can take it earlier if they wish, while noting many topics are particularly applicable to juniors and seniors.

District data presented to the board showed the average graduating student currently earns about 29.6 credits, above the 25-credit minimum. Dr. Chaiaclardi said most students already earn substantially more than the minimum and that enrollment in the elective personal finance course varies now by campus: roughly 18% of current ninth-graders are taking the course and another 9% have signed up for next year; at West High about 10% of ninth-graders are taking it now and 15% plan to next year; current eighth-graders show about 8% signed up for next year. The district said students who already completed the current elective personal finance course will meet the new requirement.

Board questions and committee discussion highlighted particular concerns. Staff flagged the potential effect on at-risk students who currently graduate with the minimum credits: in 2022–23, 11 graduates had exactly 25 credits and in 2023–24 that figure was 17, the district said. Staff noted the need to avoid creating new barriers for students who transfer from districts with lower graduation-credit requirements. They also described the change as effectively an "unfunded mandate," saying staffing increases are not expected to be large but the district may need to hire additional business teachers if enrollment in the course grows.

To accommodate students who already have set schedules, the district proposed three options families could use: keep a student’s current fall course roster and take personal finance before the end of senior year; meet with a high school counselor over the summer to adjust schedules (counselors will be on site Wednesdays), or — for students enrolled in the Sun Prairie Virtual School — take the JEDI/Wisconsin eSchool Network personal finance course (a half-credit, semester-length asynchronous option) at no cost to the student or family.

No formal board action was taken at the superintendent’s report. The district will present recommended policy revisions to Board Policy IKF and Procedure IKF-R and seek board approval at the June 9 meeting.

The board packet and staff presentation included county comparisons of required credits, the state’s core-15 credit breakdown, and enrollment data the district said informed its recommendation. Dr. Chaiaclardi said the district will continue work on curriculum alignment through its curriculum renewal and design cycle to ensure the new standalone course meets the state’s content areas and local expectations.