With the school year beginning across the nation, 29 states now have a financial literacy graduation requirement, up from just six in 2019, according to a recent report by the National Endowment for Financial Education.
Twenty-five graduation requirement bills were introduced in 13 state legislatures in 2025, NEFE reported. State lawmakers in Kentucky, Colorado, Texas and Delaware passed full graduation requirement bills, while lawmakers in North Dakota and Maine passed financial education bills without full graduation requirements. Nineteen bills are pending in seven states: Alaska, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Washington.
The state laws differ in specifics. For example, Kentucky’s law requires every student who enters ninth grade on or after July 1 to complete a one-credit course in financial literacy. The Texas law requires students entering the ninth grade in or after 2026-2027 to complete a half-credit in personal financial literacy.
Passing state legislation is just the beginning of the process, according to NEFE. “With so many states currently in the implementation phase, now is the time to examine how states can implement the requirements in a way that provides quality instruction, curriculum and well-trained teachers for every student.”
Earlier this year, a survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Bankers Association Foundation found U.S. adults strongly support youth financial education being taught in schools. According to the data, 87% agree that financial concepts should be taught in high school and 72% believe they would be better off financially if they had learned the basics of personal finance at an earlier age.
