UPDATE: the 2023 Financial Education Bill Tracker from Next Gen Personal Finance provides daily updates on which state legislatures have introduced financial education bills for grades K-12 throughout 2023.

Mission: 2030 is our community's goal that by the year 2030, ALL young people will take a personal finance course before crossing the graduation stage. Our success in reaching this goal depends on a combination of (1) grassroots efforts - teachers championing the importance of teaching financial capability for all - and (2) statewide legislative efforts to change course guarantees. I'm thrilled to report that this amazing community of passionate educators is ahead of schedule on BOTH of these fronts!

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Nationwide, combining grassroots and statewide action, you've ensured over 350,000 new students were guaranteed to take a personal finance course in 2020-2021 compared with 2019-2020.
• Supercharged momentum: in the span of 18 months, our country has accelerated from 5 states committed to guaranteeing all students take a standalone personal finance course before graduation to 9 states... all during a debilitating global pandemic. This movement is taking root in dramatic fashion.

Grassroots Progress

• NGPF's Gold Standard Challenge is heating up, with 144 high schools so far receiving grants up to $10,000 when they committed to ALL their students taking personal finance before graduation. Meet the grantees who made it happen, and hear many of their stories, here. Submit board minutes confirming your school or district's adoption of a new personal finance guarantee by August 31, 2022 to earn your Gold Standard Challenge grant!
• Mission: 2025 is our community's stepping stone goal that by 2025, all students will at least have access to a one semester personal finance course as an elective. We have lots of work to do, but it's an attainable goal with nearly 70% of U.S. public high school students already able to take the course. So far, 16 high schools have received $1,000 grants when they added personal finance electives to their schools' course offerings for the first time in 2021-2022!
  • Travis Rasso, Randall K. Cooper High School (Union, KY)
  • Phillip Bandoch, Brighton High School (Brighton, CO)
  • Matthew Strine, Monessen High School (Monessen, PA)
  • David Voyt, Almont High School (Almont, MI)
  • Kylee Holliday, Alexis I duPont High School (Wilmington, DE)
  • Joshua Getka, Woodbridge High School (Greenwood, DE)
  • Marcy Decker, California City High School (California City, CA)
  • Tim Wells, DeForest Area High School (DeForest, WI)
  • Natalie McCullough, Pierce High School (Arbuckle, CA)
  • Michelina Anderson, Cab Calloway School of the Arts (Wilmington, DE)
  • Dorothy Haring, Reading High School (Reading, PA)
  • Jessica Oehmcke, Three Forks High School (Three Forks, MT)
  • Amber Simcic, Spectrum Charter School (Monroeville, PA)
  • Brittani Washington, The Chicago High School for the Arts (Chicago, IL)
  • Jacob Pancheau, Lockwood High School (Billings, MT)
  • Alaina Tharp, Cambridge High School (Cambridge, OH)
• HUGE Thank You, and good luck to these passionate educators on your new personal finance course guarantees and electives! The next generation of young people is better off with leaders like you in the world.

Statewide Progress

• Prior to 2020-2021... 5 states guaranteed all their students take a standalone personal finance class before graduation: Alabama, Missouri, Tennessee, Utah, and Virginia.
• During 2020-2021, 2 new states were in the midst of joining the original five to become personal finance guarantee states: Mississippi (class of 2022) and North Carolina (class of 2024), bringing the total number to 7 guarantee states... but there's more!
• New statewide guarantees in Nebraska and Rhode Island!
  • This legislative session, Nebraska Council on Economic Education Director Dr. Jennifer Davidson and her team joined forces with a number of statewide partners and lawmakers to accomplish a milestone goal on behalf of Nebraska's young people: a standalone personal finance course, guaranteed for all high schoolers before graduation, signed into law! NE Legislative Bill 452 was signed by the governor on May 25th. This made Nebraska the 8th state to commit to guaranteeing all high schoolers take a personal finance course.
  • This legislative session, Rhode Island's legislature took up the challenge from State Treasurer Seth Magaziner to prepare their state's young people with financial capability to thrive in the future. On June 1st, the Governor signed a law requiring students, starting with the graduating class of 2024, to demonstrate proficiency in a rigorous set of consumer education (personal finance) standards through an approved standalone course, portfolio, and/or approved assessment. Amazing work by educator par excellence Dr. Pat Page, CEE Executive Director Dr. Margaret Brooks, and Deputy Treasurer Charon Rose to get this across the finish line. Rhode Island will become the 9th guarantee state with this change!
• For many reasons, states don't always jump immediately to guaranteeing standalone financial education courses for all students. There are, however, incremental steps that can strengthen financial education in a state before it ultimately becomes a guarantee for all. Here are a handful of states whose Legislatures or Boards of Education made strong incremental progress this year:
  • Arkansas established a commission to help implement financial literacy programs.
  • Colorado established a financial literacy standards review board and process to ensure the course's content standards remain relevant and rigorous.
  • Hawaii urged its Department of Education and Department of Commerce & Consumer affairs to implement a standalone personal finance course for all high schoolers... my ego tells me I HAVE to share an opinion piece (big thanks to Valdeane Odachi for joining forces to collaborate with me on the piece!) that was recently published in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. 
  • Nevada revised academic standards and subjects within social studies, bringing financial literacy closer to its rightful role as a core subject within the curriculum.
  • Texas revised its graduation requirements to allow a one semester course composed of 2/3 personal finance and 1/3 economics to count in place of the existing economics requirement.
  • Check out the details of these new state laws (and more) on NGPF's FinLit BillTracker [last updated June 7, 2021].

About the Author

Christian Sherrill

Former teacher, forever financial education nerd. As NGPF's Director of Growth & Advocacy, Christian is laser-focused on our mission to guarantee all students a rigorous personal finance course before crossing the high school graduation stage. Having paid down over $40k in student loans in the span of 3 years - while living in the Bay Area on an entry level teacher's salary - he's eager to help the next generation avoid financial pitfalls one semester at a time.