Where NGPF Stands on the Texas Proposed Personal Financial Literacy Standards

On May 1st, the Texas State Board of Education posted an informal public comment process regarding proposed changes to Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for Personal Financial Literacy (PFL).

As the state prepares to implement the new TX HB 27 required PFL course, the quality of these PFL TEKS will shape how millions of young Texans understand money, debt, investing, and financial decision-making for decades to come.

We've reviewed the proposed TEKS frameworks carefully and fairly, weighing the strengths and limitations of each. While the Texas Education Agency's (TEA) proposed framework has genuine strengths, we have determined that the proposal put forward by State Board of Education Member Francis is the strongest option on the table. What puts Member Francis' proposal ahead is a higher level of rigor, comprehensiveness, and relevance to the modern financial world Texas students are actually entering.

1. Asks Students to Do, Not Just Describe

Higher-order thinking skills are included throughout the standards proposed by Board Member Francis. Rather than asking students to "describe" how taxes reduce income, the proposal asks them to calculate how federal, state, and local taxes reduce disposable income, quantify the value of employee benefits, and compare compensation packages across job offers. Students are asked to examine the components of the cost of borrowing, including annual percentage rate, fixed versus variable interest rates, term length, grace periods, and fees.

This is a critical shift! Educators understand that students need to practice making financial decisions, not just learn about them in the abstract. All PFL topics, from budgeting to investing to credit management, should challenge students to analyze, evaluate, and apply, not just recite facts. 

2. Reflects the Financial World Students Actually Face

Most 16-year-olds in Texas today manage money through Venmo or Cash App, and encounter Buy Now Pay Later offers at every checkout page. They see financial advice from social media influencers on TikTok, and can open a brokerage account before they can rent a car! This is why the PFL standards must address the new reality of money in the 21st century.

The Francis proposal includes standards about peer-to-peer payment platforms and digital wallets, algorithm-driven financial recommendations, Buy Now Pay Later services and their true costs, robo-advisor/micro-investing apps, cryptocurrencies, multi-factor authentication, phishing, and personal digital security. This is the financial environment students will navigate starting the day they leave the classroom!

This proposal fills substantive gaps present in the TEA proposed framework. It includes high-yield savings accounts and NCUA protections, 401(k) and 403(b) plans with employer matching, the snowball and avalanche methods for debt repayment, risk management tools, behavioral nudge design, and simulated tax return preparation using digital tools. It also consolidates redundant standards, covering more ground without unnecessary repetition.

3. Teaches Students to Defend Themselves and Their Money

One of the proposal’s most noteworthy features is the section on Consumer Economics and Financial Decision-Making. It asks students to recognize how cognitive biases, such as loss aversion, anchoring, and overconfidence lead to poor financial choices. Students will also evaluate the credibility of financial information sources and distinguish evidence-based guidance from product promotion. This is incredibly important in the digital age where targeted advertising constantly seeks to influence how young people use money. Teaching students how their own psychology can be weaponized against their financial interests is essential!

Texas has a chance to set a national benchmark, and the TEKS proposal from Member Francis gives the state a framework worthy of that opportunity. Of course, there is no framework that's perfect.  Some of the standards in Member Francis’ proposal combine two or three related skills together, such as the total compensation standard including tax calculation, benefits quantification, and cross-offer comparison all in one. It would be beneficial to break some of the more complex expectations down into sub-components to make them more user-friendly without sacrificing rigor. However, the proposal is solid and the stronger of the two proposed for the reasons above.

We encourage Texas educators, administrators, and community members to review both proposals and advocate for standards that match the financial world our students are already experiencing.

The Next Gen Personal Finance team is committed to ensuring every Texas student has access to high-quality financial literacy education.

For questions, resources, or to get involved, reach out to us at info@ngpf.org

About the Author

Yanely Espinal

Born and raised by Dominican, immigrant parents in Brooklyn, Yanely is a proud product of NYC public schools. She graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School in 2007 before going on to receive her bachelor's degree at Brown University in 2011. As a Teach For America corps member, Yanely taught third and fourth grade in Canarsie, Brooklyn. She received her master's degree from Relay Graduate School of Education in 2013. She spends her spare time making YouTube videos about personal finance on her channel, MissBeHelpful. Yanely also loves to dance, sew, paint, listen to podcasts, and babysit her 10 nieces and nephews!