California Voters to Decide Whether to Teach High Schoolers Personal Finance

A teacher leads class at Franklin High School in Los Angeles on May 25, 2017. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

California voters will decide whether to include personal finance in high school graduation requirements, as another initiative has been added to the ballot.

The secretary of state announced May 8 that a ballot measure requiring a personal finance course to be offered in public high schools and charter schools beginning in 2026 and requiring students graduating in 2030 to complete a one-semester personal finance course has garnered enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot.

Topics that the course may cover include:

• Budgeting skills.
• Tax system, retirement accounts, stocks, bonds and other investment alternatives.
• Types of credit and lending activities.
• Identity theft prevention.
• Financing college or other education needs.

Students can also meet the requirements by completing a personal finance course approved by the University of California. This course would complement the existing mandatory one-semester economics course, which might cover some similar topics.

State officials estimate that hiring teachers and developing curriculum and instructional materials could cost schools in the “high tens of millions of dollars annually,” with expenses expected to decrease gradually over time.

Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber is set to certify the initiative and approve its placement on the ballot by June 27, unless it’s withdrawn beforehand, the statement said.