# Does Florida Require a Personal Finance Class to Graduate? The 0.5-Credit Rule, Class of 2027 Onward

> Yes — students who entered grade 9 in 2023-24 or later must earn 0.5 credit in Personal Financial Literacy and Money Management. It does not raise the diploma above 24 credits, and there is no EOC for it. Here is exactly who it binds and what it changes on a transcript.

**Source:** https://www.floridacapprep.com/vn/blog/florida-personal-financial-literacy-graduation-requirement  
**Published:** 2026-10-18

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**Yes.** Students who entered grade 9 in the 2023–24 school year or later — the graduating class of 2027 and every class after it — must earn **0.5 credit in Personal Financial Literacy and Money Management** to receive a standard Florida high-school diploma. The requirement came from HB 1054, signed in March 2022.

If your child started high school before 2023–24, it does not apply to them. That is the whole rule. The rest of this guide is the detail parents ask about once they have the answer.

## Which students it binds

| Entered grade 9 | Graduating class | Financial literacy required? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2022–23 or earlier | 2026 and earlier | No |
| **2023–24** | **2027** | **Yes — first cohort** |
| 2024–25 and later | 2028 onward | Yes |

Note that the cohort is set by *when a student entered grade 9*, not by their expected graduation year. A student who repeats a year is still governed by the rules of the year they started.

## It does not add a credit

This is the part that causes the most unnecessary worry. The standard diploma is still **24 credits**. The half credit for personal financial literacy comes out of the elective count, which drops from 8 to 7.5:

- English Language Arts — 4
- Mathematics — 4 (must include Algebra 1 and Geometry)
- Science — 3 (must include Biology 1)
- Social Studies — 3
- Physical Education — 1
- Performing/Fine Arts — 1
- **Personal Financial Literacy — 0.5**
- Electives — 7.5

A student who was on track before this took effect is still on track. Nobody has to stay an extra semester for it.

## Is there an EOC or a state test for it?

**No.** There is no statewide end-of-course assessment for personal financial literacy, and there is no state test to pass. The course is graded by the school like any other half-credit course, and the grade counts toward GPA the same way.

Florida’s statewide EOCs are only these: B.E.S.T. Algebra 1, B.E.S.T. Geometry, Biology 1, U.S. History, and Civics. If you are looking for the exams that *do* carry weight for graduation, the [full graduation requirements guide](https://www.floridacapprep.com/blog/florida-high-school-graduation-requirements-explained) lays out which ones matter and what happens if a student does not pass the one that counts.

## What the course covers

The content is what the name suggests, and it is genuinely practical:

- Bank accounts, account types and fees
- Credit scores, credit reports and how debt accumulates
- Simple and compound interest, and how loan terms change what you pay
- Types of insurance and what each one is actually for
- Income tax basics and how to read a pay stub
- Saving and investing fundamentals, including retirement accounts
- Student loans and the cost of post-secondary options

## How districts deliver it

Delivery varies and all of these satisfy the requirement:

- A standalone half-credit semester course
- A half credit paired with the half-credit Economics requirement, so the two fill one year-long slot
- An online section through Florida Virtual School
- Summer or credit-recovery scheduling for students who missed it

Because the delivery differs by district, the course code on a transcript differs too. If you are checking whether your child has it, look for the course on the transcript rather than for a particular name — and if it is not there by the start of grade 11, that is the right moment to raise it with the school counselor, while there is still room in the schedule to fix it.

## What this does not change

- **Bright Futures.** The scholarship’s own course and GPA thresholds are set separately and were not altered by this requirement.
- **The EOC rules.** Algebra 1 is still the EOC that carries a graduation requirement, with the concordant SAT/ACT route as the alternative.
- **Diploma designations.** Scholar and Merit criteria are unchanged.

## Related guides

- [Florida high-school graduation requirements — the complete guide](https://www.floridacapprep.com/blog/florida-high-school-graduation-requirements-explained)
- [The concordant SAT/ACT scores that substitute for the Algebra 1 EOC](https://www.floridacapprep.com/blog/florida-algebra-1-eoc-concordant-sat-act-scores)
- [What happens if a student does not pass a Florida EOC](https://www.floridacapprep.com/blog/what-happens-if-you-fail-florida-eoc)

## Sources

- Florida HB 1054 (2022) — personal financial literacy graduation requirement.
- Florida Statute §1003.4282 — high-school graduation requirements.
- FDOE — Course Code Directory, personal financial literacy course listings.

*This is an independent guide, accurate as published in October 2026. Florida CAP Prep™ is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the Florida Department of Education or any Florida school district. Course codes and district scheduling change; confirm your own child’s cohort and transcript with their school counselor.*