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Regulation and Compliance > State Regulation

These 11 States Require Financial Ed to Graduate High School

By Michael S. Fischer

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Next Gen Personal Finance is a nonprofit advocacy group whose mission is to see that by 2030, all U.S. high school students will be guaranteed to take at least a one semester-long personal finance course before graduation. 

With its tracker function, the organization follows the progress of financial education bills that have been introduced across the United States. This year, 33 states have introduced 98 bills. Of these, 33 bills are active in 22 states. Twelve bills have been signed into law in 11 states. 

Following is a brief rundown of each of these bills. 

Alabama

The new law requires public high school students to complete a personal financial literacy and money management course before graduation. It provides for creation and administration of a financial literacy examination; and requires the reporting of a summary of examination results to the State Department of Education.

Connecticut

The law establishes a standalone personal finance graduation requirement for high school students.

Idaho

The law adds to an existing one to require financial literacy courses in certain grades.

Indiana

The new law requires all high school students beginning with the cohort who are expected to graduate in 2027 to complete a personal financial responsibility course before graduation. It also creates content requirements for the course.

Louisiana

The law adds financial literacy as a separate required course for high school students.

Minnesota

For the 2024–2025 school year and later, the law requires high school students to complete a course for credit in personal finance in grade 10, 11 or 12 taught by a teacher with an agricultural education, business, family and consumer science, social studies or math license.

Montana

The law generally revises current education laws to include a definition for financial literacy as it applies to administrative rules. It includes economics or personal finance as a graduation requirement.

Nevada

The law incorporates financial literacy within the economics course, adds a student to the financial literacy task force and requires instruction to ensure that students have the skill to develop a financial plan.

Oregon

The law adds the completion by students of one credit of future planning as a requirement for high school diplomas awarded on or after July 1, 2025. It directs the State Board of Education to adopt academic content standards for future planning, and requires school districts and public charter schools to provide instruction in future planning. 

Tennessee

Two laws have come into force.

One replaces Financial Literacy Week, the first full week of April, with Financial Literacy Month, the entire month of April. It also requires the financial literacy commission to study financial literacy education efforts and report to the General Assembly by Dec. 31. 

As introduced, the second law requires at least one grade level in each public elementary and middle school to schedule at least five days each school year to highlight age-appropriate financial literacy concepts that include earning income, spending, saving, managing credit and investing. 

West Virginia

Beginning with the 2023–2024 school year, the law requires each high school student to complete a one credit or one half credit course in personal finance in order to graduate.

Michael S. Fischer

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