In South Dakota, students must complete a one-half credit of either Personal Finance or Economics for high school graduation. Students who choose to take Personal Finance for the requirement will receive robust financial literacy instruction through the course, which has five personal finance indicators. However, students who choose to take Economics for the requirement will not receive financial literacy instruction, as the High School Economics standards do not include any personal finance components outside the basic functions of money and types of financial institutions. 

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2004 House Concurrent Resolution No. 1015 urged “the South Dakota Board of Education to integrate the principles of basic personal finance into the public-school curricula in South Dakota.” While there are economics standards for each grade level in the South Dakota Social Studies Content Standards, none cover personal finance concepts, meaning students are not guaranteed financial literacy instruction in K-12 curriculum.

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South Dakota receives an “F” for not guaranteeing any financial literacy instruction in Grades K-12. The high school students who choose to take Personal Finance rather than Economics receive robust financial literacy instruction, but the students who take Economics do not receive any instruction. South Dakota should require that all high school students take the Personal Finance course and should follow the recommendation of 2004 House Concurrent Resolution No. 1015 to create grade-specific financial literacy standards in Grades K-8.