Incoming North Carolina high school students will have to take only one course solely focused on American history to get a diploma, the result of a personal finance course mandated by the General Assembly.

The State Board of Education adopted on Thursday new graduation requirements for freshmen entering high school in the 2020-21 school year to reflect the new directive for the economics and finance class.

To accommodate the new demand, the board agreed to reduce the number of required U.S. history courses from two to one, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported.

Some social studies teachers have worried the legislative mandate would squeeze out U.S. history instruction. But state education officials contend the change won’t result in less student knowledge of American history, pointing out elementary and middle school learning on the subject and the history content in a revamped high school civics class, which is also a graduation requirement. The students also will have to keep taking a world history course.

A coalition of legislators from both parties and outside groups successfully pushed for the personal finance mandate last year, saying it will help students become more economically savvy and self-sufficient as adults.

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