9th grade, quadratic equations, and graphing calculators.. Is this a real thing?

I woke up to a text this morning about my sisters twins needing TI-84s for math class. It appears to be a requirement for the class. This seems absurd. They are not good at math. I help them with their homework. Pencil and graph paper would be faster.

I can kinda get wanting to teach them how to use the tools that will be handy in higher level math classes.

But this is a public school that is basically saying you need to spend 180 dollars on calculators to pass a pretty basic math class. As far as I know everyone is required to get one of these on their dime.

This would have never been a thing when I was in high school. Is buying supplies the schools consider required something parents have to deal with now? Or do the twins just go to a shitty school?