01-06-2025
Texas high school students may need a financial literacy class to graduate
High school students in Texas may be required to take a personal financial literacy course staring in the 2026-2027 school year.
The Texas Legislature has approved House Bill 27, which updates the graduation requirement. The bill is headed to Gov. Greg Abbott, who can sign the bill into law or veto it.
Requiring the course is a 'no-brainer,' said Rep. Linda Garcia, a Mesquite Democrat, joint author on the bill and the author of a book about the stock market.
'We need money for everything in life, and so why are we not centering that in schools?' Garcia said.
According to the legislation, the foundation high school program — the default graduation program for students that outlines what courses must be taken in high school — would be updated to include at least one semester of personal financial literacy.
Students would need three social study credits total to graduate, made up of one year of U.S. History, a semester of government, a semester of personal financial literacy and a year of either either economics, world geography or world history.
Students could also take an equivalent advanced placement class designed by the State Board of Education for the personal finance credit.
'I hope that they take away confidence in understanding how to navigate money moving forward, as they begin their careers and as they begin earning money,' Garcia said.
The legislature passed a bill in 2021 offering the option of a course that combines economics and financial literacy, but students aren't required to take it. Texas also offers a personal financial literacy elective.
The bill doesn't outline what the course should entail, but Garcia said she'd like to see it give students an understanding of things like credit scores and tax refunds.
She used college students racking up debt after getting a credit card from a predatory credit card company as they begin their higher education as an example of why the class is needed.
As of May 23, there are 28 states that require a personal financial literacy course for high school students to graduate, according to Next Gen Personal Finance, a non-profit that advocates across the nation for personal finances in schools and pushed for the course in Texas this legislative session. The group has curriculum available for use for no cost, Garcia said. Some of the lessons are about budgeting, banking, filing taxes, credit cards and loans.
The bill passed out of the Texas Senate unanimously, and with near unanimous support in the Texas House.
Rep. Ken King, a Republican from Canadian, was the bill's primary author. His office did not immediately return requests for comment.
Asked whether Abbott plans to sign the bill, spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said the governor 'will thoughtfully review any legislation sent to his desk.'
The Texas legislative session ends June 2.
