These states poised to pass personal finance education laws this year

There’s momentum for personal finance education becoming law in many states across the country.

Even more states could pass legislation this year to make sure students, particularly those at the high school level, have such instruction.

“It’s been a huge change,” said John Pelletier, director of the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, progress on personal financial education had stagnated, he said. But amid pandemic layoffs and the ensuing recession, it became clear that financial literacy is extremely important for students.

“What seems to propel these bills forward is a catastrophe,” Pelletier said.

Who is next  

Georgia will likely be the next state to pass a personal finance education requirement, according to Next Gen Personal Finance, a nonprofit.

Both chambers of the state’s general assembly have passed a bill, SB 220, that would require all high school students to take at least a half-credit financial literacy course to graduate, starting with the 2024-2025 school year. The bill is awaiting the governor’s signature to become law.

South Carolina also may soon pass legislation mandating personal finance education. The state has a bill, S16, that’s currently in conference committee. Once Georgia’s bill is signed into law, South Carolina will be the only state in the Southeast that doesn’t require personal finance coursework, according to Tim Ranzetta, co-founder of Next Gen Personal Finance.

“I think there’s an element of [fear of missing out] happening between the states,” said Ranzetta. “That’s why we’re seeing the trend there.”

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Michigan could also advance legislation in the coming months. A bill that would require a half-credit personal finance course for high school graduation passed the state House of Representatives in December and is expected to be taken up by the state Senate in May.

In Minnesota, an omnibus education bill would mandate that high school freshman starting in the 2023-2024 school year take at least a half-credit personal finance course to graduate. And, in New Hampshire, an education bill includes personal finance on a list of things that constitute an adequate education.

So far, there are 12 states that adhere to Next Gen Personal Finance’s gold standard of personal finance education, meaning that they require or will soon require at least a half-credit, standalone personal finance course for high school graduation.

Overall, there are 23 states in the U.S. that have some sort of personal finance education mandate, according to the 2022 Survey of…