How much personal finance does Michigan require?

One-half (0.5) credit standalone personal finance course. Michigan's requirement is a standalone course requirement. In practice that means a dedicated class of its own, taken for credit, rather than a few personal finance lessons folded into another subject.

What personal finance standards does Michigan use?

Michigan Personal Finance content standards (MDE). Rapunzl's curriculum is built on the Council for Economic Education's six pillars: Earning Income, Spending, Saving, Investing, Managing Credit, and Managing Risk. Those pillars map to every strand in the framework, which is why the same course can satisfy standards that are worded differently from one state to the next.

Does Rapunzl's curriculum align to Michigan standards?

Yes. Rapunzl's modules and real-time investing simulator cover the CEE six pillars, and those pillars crosswalk to the Michigan strands listed on this page. Students learn by making real decisions with a simulated $10,000 portfolio priced on live market data, and teachers get an educator dashboard with grade export, materials in English and Spanish, and screen-reader accessibility. Request a demo and we'll send the Michigan standards crosswalk along with classroom access.

Required

Michigan Personal Finance Standards & Graduation Requirements

Q: Which Michigan students does the requirement apply to?

The Class of 2028 is the first graduating class that has to meet it, so earlier classes are not held to the requirement. Timeline: Applies to students entering grade 8 in 2023-24 and later. If you are planning a course now, that timeline is the window to have curriculum in place before Michigan starts holding students to it.

Michigan requires a half-credit standalone personal finance course to graduate, beginning with the class of 2028.

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Michigan at a glance

Requirement: Standalone course required
Legislation or authority: HB 5190 (Public Act 148 of 2022)
Passed: Signed June 16, 2022
Takes effect: Applies to students entering grade 8 in 2023-24 and later
First graduating class affected: Class of 2028
Course length: One-half (0.5) credit standalone personal finance course
State standards: Michigan Personal Finance content standards (MDE)

Read the official Michigan standards

What Michigan requires

Public Act 148 of 2022 added a half credit of personal finance to the Michigan Merit Curriculum, applying to students who entered grade 8 in 2023-24 — the class of 2028 and beyond.

MDE guidance covers how the credit can be applied, including whether it may satisfy a math or other credit.

Last reviewed against official sources on 2026-07-15.

How Rapunzl maps to Michigan standards

Rapunzl's curriculum is built on the Council for Economic Education's six pillars. Here is how they line up with the Michigan framework.

Michigan strand	CEE pillar	Rapunzl modules
Earning income	Earning Income	Taxes & Income Careers In Finance
Budgeting & spending	Spending	The Basics Of Banking Buying Your First Home Paying For College
Saving & investing	Investing	Welcome To The Stock Market What Makes A Good Stock?ETFs & Mutual Funds
Credit & debt management	Managing Credit	The Power & Risks Of Credit How To Make Loans Work For You
Risk management & insurance	Managing Risk	Diversification & Risk Insurance & Retirement
Financial decision-making & consumer skills	Financial Decision-Making	Financial Statistics Top Investor Strategies

Educators can request a full Michigan standards crosswalk through the Educator Dashboard.

Standards alignment details: how Rapunzl covers Michigan's personal finance standards

A standard-by-standard look at the Michigan framework. 7 standards are covered across 8 Rapunzl modules; each links to its lesson so you can preview exactly what students learn.

PF1 Earning Income

Michigan standard	Aligned Rapunzl modules
Conduct research regarding potential income and employee benefit packages, non-income factors that may influence career choice, benefits, and costs of obtaining the necessary education or technical skills, taxes a person is likely to pay, and other possible sources of income.	Insurance & Retirement Taxes & Income Paying For College

PF2 Buying Goods and Services

Michigan standard	Aligned Rapunzl modules
Describe the factors that consumers may consider when purchasing a good or service, including the costs, benefits, and the role of government in obtaining the information.	Saving Versus Investing

PF3 Budgeting and Saving

Michigan standard	Aligned Rapunzl modules
Identify the incentives people have to set aside income for future consumption and evaluate the impact of time, interest rates, and inflation upon the value of savings.	Saving Versus Investing

PF4 Using Credit

Michigan standard	Aligned Rapunzl modules
Evaluate the benefits, costs, and potential impacts of using credit to purchase goods and services - Understand the Free Application process for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), Student Loans, Scholarships, Work Study and Grants	Paying For College Taxes & Income

PF5 Financial Investing

Michigan standard	Aligned Rapunzl modules
Analyze the risks, expected rate of return, tax benefits, the impact of inflation, the role of government agencies, and the importance of diversification when investing in financial assets.	Diversification & Risk The Economy & Federal Reserve How To Make Loans Work For You What Makes A Good Stock?

PF6 Protecting and Insuring

Michigan standard	Aligned Rapunzl modules
Assess the financial risk of lost income, assets, health, or identity, and determine if a person should accept the risk exposure, reduce risk, or transfer the risk to others by paying a fee now to avoid the possibility of a larger loss later.	Diversification & Risk Insurance & Retirement

PF7 Paying Taxes

Michigan standard	Aligned Rapunzl modules
Identify and evaluate taxes a person is likely to pay, including federal, state, and local taxes, tax benefits and drawbacks, impacts on take-home pay, types of IRS tax forms, and how these can affect their taxes.	Taxes & Income

Standards alignment for Michigan is provided for planning and is updated annually. Educators can request a formatted Michigan standards crosswalk through the Educator Dashboard.

Why Michigan schools choose Rapunzl

Rapunzl pairs a standards-aligned curriculum with a real-time investment simulator, so students learn personal finance by making real decisions with simulated $10,000 portfolios priced on live market data — not by reading about it. The curriculum scales from a three-week unit to a 28-week year-long course, which means it fits whichever shape Michigan's requirement takes in your district.

100,000+students have completed Rapunzl's curriculum
93%average financial literacy scores on national test over past 5 years, 24% above average
31interactive modules that can be customized into a course progression for your classroom
20+hours of gameplay in 2 interactive mini-games alongside our investment simulator and financial calculators

Teachers get an educator dashboard with grade export and standards crosswalks, English and Spanish materials, screen-reader accessibility, and a free national scholarship competition their students can enter each January.

Michigan personal finance requirement FAQ

Michigan requires a half-credit standalone personal finance course to graduate, beginning with the class of 2028.

The requirement is set by HB 5190 (Public Act 148 of 2022).

Takes effect: Applies to students entering grade 8 in 2023-24 and later.

Bring Rapunzl to your Michigan classroom

Explore the curriculum and real-time simulator free for 30 days. Tell us about your school and we'll send your all-access demo along with the Michigan standards crosswalk.

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