Changes Coming to Public Schools

Financial literacy, climate lessons added to curriculum Public school students in the Highlands will begin seeing changes this year and next as New York State implements "transformations" to its required curriculum and graduation standards. Most noticeable for the 2026-27 school year, which began this week at Haldane and Garrison and starts Tuesday (Sept. 8) in Beacon, will be the requirement that incoming ninth graders receive financial literacy instruction before they graduate. The requirement was approved in March by the Board of Regents, a 17-member panel elected by state legislators to oversee public schools. Topics such as budgeting, credit, debt and risk management and investing may be taught either in a standalone class, which Beacon High School will introduce this month, or as lessons in other courses, which is Haldane's approach in math and economics. Instruction may also be provided through career and technical education programming. Financial literacy must now be integrated into the curriculum for grades 5 through 8 and, beginning next year, for K-4. Another change will require schools, beginning in 2027-28, to provide climate education for grades 5 through 12, and K-4 the following year. As with financial literacy, districts will have the option of a standalone class or embedding the topic. In Beacon, Superintendent Matt Landahl said the district is leaning toward incorporating climate into science classes, which "we already do, to some degree." Haldane has done the same in its environmental science and biology courses, said Julia Sniffen, the high school principal. At the same time, the Regents are weighing what the state calls the Four Transformations. In July 2025, the board approved the first, the Portrait of a Graduate model. It says graduating seniors must be (1) academically prepared, (2) creative innovators, (3) critical thinkers, (4) effective communicators, (5) global citizens and (6) reflective and future-focused. Coursework must demonstrate a student's proficiency in each attribute. In some instances, one project can satisfy more than one attribute. For example, an intern for a local newspaper who reports and writes articles could satisfy the communication and academic preparedness requirements, said Sagrario Rudecindo-O'Neill, the assistant superintendent of curriculum and student support for the Beacon district. The portrait defines "what every kid who walks across the stage [to graduate] should be able to do," she said. "It's like a north star." A graphic prepared by the state shows the six attributes around a center labeled "culturally responsive-sustaining education," which, the image notes, builds "strong, respectful relationships, valuing diverse perspectives as essential to a rigorous, inclusive learning community." Twenty-six states have adopted a Portrait of a Graduate or similar models, according to America Succeeds, a research and advocacy group. In 2019, New York created a Blue Ribbon Commission on Graduation Measures, which produced a 2023 report with recommendations that were distilled into the Four Transformations. Rudecindo-O'Neill chaired a commission committee that organized discussion forums for educators and the public. The other three transformations are still under review by the Board of Regents. One would redefine the 22 credits required for graduation, shifting from "seat time" to a "competency-based structure." It would also add a requirement for high school students to earn a credit in career and technical education. Another transformation would remove the requirement that students pass standardized Regents exams, which have been in place since the late 19th century and are designed to measure competency in English, math, science and social studies. Since the early 2000s, students have been required to score 65 or higher on at least five tests to graduate. Federal law requires that the state give the tests, but if the change is approved, students could opt for a school-cr...