Gov. Gavin Newsom announced March 18 that California will require all high school students to complete a personal finance course before graduation, making the state one of the first in the nation to mandate financial literacy as a condition of receiving a diploma.
The State Board of Education adopted the one-semester curriculum under Assembly Bill 2927, which Newsom signed in 2024. The course will be available beginning in the 2027–28 school year and required for students graduating in 2030–31 and beyond.
Students will learn budgeting, debt management, credit scores, higher education financing, and investing. The curriculum also introduces CalKIDS, the state program that provides college savings accounts to millions of California children — many of whom currently graduate without any savings account at all.
“Financial literacy is a life skill. We’re making sure every California student graduates ready to earn, save, invest, and build wealth.”
Alongside the graduation requirement, Newsom signed an executive order aimed at closing the gender wealth gap by expanding women’s access to capital, savings, and investment opportunities statewide.
First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom said the combined measures are designed to strengthen families and grow the broader economy. “When women have the opportunity to build wealth,” she said, “families are stronger, communities are healthier, and our economy grows.”
California produces the fifth-largest economy in the world. The new requirement ensures the students who power that economy graduate with the tools to participate in it on their own terms.
