California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond hosted a Personal Finance Summit today where he announced his support for Assembly Bill 2927 (McCarty), legislation that would require a personal finance education course for California high school graduation.

During the summit, which featured a panel of financial and education leaders, Thurmond also announced his recruitment efforts for a Personal Finance Task Force to inform implementation of personal finance education for K–12 students across the state, especially as a source of economic empowerment for those in marginalized communities.

“This effort is fundamentally about empowering our youth and uplifting our communities. Personal finance provides our young people with the tools to understand and improve their own economic situation, and by establishing personal finance as a requirement for California students through Assembly Bill 2927, we would ensure that this powerful opportunity is afforded to all,” said Thurmond. “If our children are equipped with the skills to understand and change their own financial situation, we can help shrink the gender wage gap and build generational wealth in our communities of color as our young people move forward and manage their money, grow their wealth, and understand value when making critical decisions for their own futures and their future families.”

Assembly Bill 2927 would add the completion of a one-semester course in personal finance to California graduation requirements, commencing with pupils graduating in the 2029–30 school year, and would require local educational agencies to offer a personal finance course commencing with the 2026–27 school year.

Thurmond moderated the summit panel, which featured Tim Ranzetta, Co-Founder of Next Gen Personal Finance; William “Bill” Borzage, High School Entrepreneurship/Financial Literacy Mentor; Valerie Chapman, Educator and Founder/CEO of Financial Literacy for Kid$; and Annamaria Lusardi, Professor of Finance at Stanford University and Director of the Financial Freedom Initiative.

The panelists addressed topics such as personal finance instruction across grade levels, existing resources for educators, and the importance of fostering an entrepreneurial mindset.

The California Department of Education has partnered with California-based nonprofit Next Gen Personal Finance to provide teacher stipends and professional development for personal finance education. Research shows that students who have access to high-quality personal finance education have better financial outcomes as adults, which results in less debt and a higher quality of life. According to research cited by Next Gen Personal Finance, the economic value of just one semester of personal finance education is $127,000 in added wealth per student.

For information on joining the Personal Finance Task Force for California students, please email communications@cde.ca.gov.

More information on personal finance education is available on the CDE Grades K–12 Financial Literacy Resources web page.