California graduation requirements will soon expand to include a new class: personal finance.
The state’s new financial literacy graduation requirement for high schoolers aims to prepare them to save money in the real world.
Taking financial literacy has many benefits for learning how to improve credit scores, reduce default rates and other valuable skills, proponents of the course requirement have said. The curriculum will include financial management, budgeting strategies and information on investing.
California schools will guarantee access to at least one semester of personal finance starting in 2027, according to gov. Gavin Newsom. The official graduation requirement will begin in 2030-31.
Although state legislation has approved the change, teachers and schools are still unsure of the implementation of a personal finance class.
“I don’t know the specifics of how it’s going to work,” Rio economics teacher Christy Thomas said. “I don’t know if it’s going to be an addition to economics (or) a separate class completely and do away with economics.”
There are currently 35 states that require a personal finance class to graduate high school.
