An assembly bill sponsored by State Superintendent Tony Thurmond has been signed into law requiring every high school to offer a stand-alone, one-semester course in personal finance, starting the 2027-28 school year.
The California Nevada Credit Union League is a long-time supporter of the initiative.
Senior Vice President of State Government Affairs, Robert Wilson, says this is a welcome change.
"We think it's very important that high schools learn this early, and we are very excited to hit the ground running in a few short years to make sure that this is in all high schools around the state," Wilson said.
CCUL Vice President of Impact and Development, Amanda Merz, says 90 percent of credit unions in California are already working with younger generations in financial education.
One example is Educational Employees Credit Union, which has a student-run bank branch at Clovis West High School.
Merz says students who learn about finances have less financial stress and increase their savings by 3% to 5%.
"We see all of those positive components as what the benefits will be, not just to the individual students, but to the society as a whole," Merz said.
Wilson says high school is the perfect time for students to learn about personal finance right before becoming adults.
"I think that's very important because once they turn 18, they're going to start potentially getting a lot of offers for credit cards in the mail trying to take out student loans," Wilson said.
California is the 26th state to adopt the requirement.
Following the implementation, the course will become a graduation requirement for all high school students starting the 2030-31 school year.
The CCUL says the knowledge will likely expand beyond the student and can potentially impact our community as a whole.
"It's not just going to impact the 17, 16, 18 year old's. It's also going to impact their families and hopefully, they'll all take away something from these courses." Wilson said.
Wilson and Merz say the California Nevada Credit Union League is excited to support school districts in the coming years as they develop the curriculum for their students.
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