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District proposes required financial literacy and other new courses for 2026–27
Summary
The district proposed several new or revised courses for 2026–27, including a state-required financial literacy course for all 10th graders to meet Act 35, heritage Spanish II, a restructured foods sequence, an introductory cybersecurity offering, and honors weight for multi-year music participation.
At the committee meeting, Missus Hampton outlined proposed changes to the 2026–27 program of studies, presenting 10 course proposals (six distinct curricular additions when counted by sequence) that staff will include in the December program-of-studies update and present for approval later.
The most consequential item is a state-required financial literacy course for all 10th graders intended to implement Act 35. Missus Hampton said, "This course will meet those expectations of Act 35" and that it will become a graduation requirement when the change takes effect for the 2026–27 school year. The district plans to keep career-related material but separate the financial-literacy requirement to meet the statutory expectation.
Other proposals include Heritage Spanish II (a follow-up for native Spanish speakers), a restructured family and consumer sciences sequence that merges introductory foods and creates an "art and science of cooking" second-level course, and an expanded set of music offerings that would allow seniors who have participated in concert band/choir for multiple years to receive honors weighting for those courses (contingent on prior participation and director recommendation).
Missus Hampton also proposed new digital content-creation coursework and an introductory cybersecurity offering to prepare students for an evolving computer-science landscape; staff noted staffing and alignment with AP Cybersecurity and LCTI program offerings will be considered as curriculum writing proceeds.
Board members asked questions about how honors and program changes "filter down" to elementary grades and about alignment with LCTI. Principals and staff cited rising elementary and middle-school participation in music and said the honors weighting aims to retain students through four-year participation. Final course adoption, budgeting and any staffing implications will be addressed during the December program-of-studies presentation and the 2026–27 budget process.
