Assembly Bill (AB) 2927, Chapter 37, Statutes of 2024 added a stand-alone course in personal finance to the high school graduation requirements, commencing with the graduating class of 2030–31. It requires public schools, including charter schools, to offer the course during the 2027–28 school year. The measure also calls for the State Board of Education to approve a curriculum guide, outlining topics and providing resources for the course.
Curriculum Guide
Submit Public Input
Public Input Webinar
Grant Opportunities
Curriculum Guide
The authorizing legislation, AB 2927
, requires the development of a curriculum guide and resources, which “shall include all of, and only, the personal finance content specified in paragraphs (1) to (13), inclusive, of subdivision (a) of Section 51284.5.”
This content includes the following personal finance topics:
(1) Fundamentals of banking for personal use, including, but not limited to, savings and checking and managing to minimize fees.
(2) Principles of budgeting for independent living.
(3) Employment and understanding factors that affect net income, including the topics described in subdivision (a) of Section 49110.5.
(4) Uses and effects of credit, including managing credit scores and the relation of debt and interest to credit.
(5) Uses and costs of loans, including student loans, as well as policies that provide student loan forgiveness.
(6) Types and costs of insurance, including home, auto, health, and life insurance.
(7) Impacts of the tax system, including its impact on personal income, the process to file taxes, and how to read tax forms and pay stubs.
(8) Principles of investing and building wealth, including investment alternatives to build financial security, including tax-advantaged investments such as
pensions and 401(k) plans, individual retirement accounts (IRAs), and stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and index funds.
(9) Enhancing consumer protection skills by raising awareness of common scams and frauds and preventing identity theft.
(10) Identifying means to finance college, workforce education, low-cost community college options, and other career technical educational pathways or apprenticeships. Financing options covered may include scholarships, merit aid, and student loans.
(11) Understanding how psychology can impact one’s financial well-being.
(12) Charitable giving.
(13) Other topics that are directly and specifically relevant to personal finance.
Submit Public Input
The CDE has developed the questions below to guide public input on the development of the curriculum guide for personal finance. Please send any input to PersonalFinance@cde.ca.gov by January 3, 2025.
Language in Assembly Bill 2927 states a course on personal finance shall include the personal finance content listed above.
- How can the curriculum guide further draw on the topics identified in law? Which items should be prioritized? What other topics, if any, are directly and specifically relevant to personal finance but are missing from the list above?
A curriculum guide can serve as a resource to support school districts in implementing content and/or creating and adapting courses to provide content instruction. For a curriculum guide on personal finance, consider the following:
- What do districts, schools, and/or county offices of education need to effectively engage in discourse with students, parents, and communities about the importance of personal finance?
- How should the curriculum guide support teacher content knowledge needed to effectively implement instruction in personal finance and support financial literacy?
- How should the curriculum guide effectively support administrators working with elementary, middle, and high school teachers who implement and/or create personal finance content?
A curriculum guide can include examples of courses offered by local educational agencies that have been approved as meeting the A–G admissions requirements of the University of California and the California State University, including, to the extent possible, course outlines. For a curriculum guide on personal finance, consider the following:
- What kind of content knowledge do teachers need to effectively design or adapt financial literacy curricula or course content?
- What kind of instructional strategies do teachers need to teach personal finance content to all students, in kindergarten through twelfth grade, within existing coursework?
Public Input Webinar
Personal Finance Curriculum Guide Public Input Webinar, December 12, 2024
(Video; 16:08)
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and the California Department of Education (CDE) have called for input from educators, students, parents/guardians, and community members on the development of the personal finance curriculum guide called for in Assembly Bill 2927.
Grant Opportunities
California districts and schools are eligible for grant funding for personal finance program development made available by Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF).
$1 million in grants will be awarded through the NGPF California Challenge Grant Program.
Grant awards are limited to one per school and ten per district:
- $3,500 per school will be awarded to schools teaching the course in the 2025–2026 school year (up to $35,000 per district)
- $2,500 per school will be awarded to schools teaching the course in the 2026–2027 school year (up to $25,000 per district)
Grants are designated for exclusive use in the new personal finance course (including, but not limited to, professional development, field trips, and technology upgrades).
NGPF is also offering teachers $500 professional development stipends for 20 hours of completed professional development training in personal finance.
For more information on these opportunities, visit NGPF’s California Access to Financial Education Grant Program
web page.