What's happening
This bill requires all New York public high school students to receive comprehensive financial education covering topics like budgeting, banking, credit, taxes, and investing.
Why it matters
Prepares students for real-life financial decisions. by requiring in-depth instruction on practical topics like budgeting, taxes, banking, credit, debt, and investing—skills that are often cited as critical gaps in traditional education.
Aims to reduce future financial vulnerability. by teaching students how to evaluate borrowing options, understand credit scores, manage debt, and plan for retirement, potentially helping them avoid costly financial mistakes as adults.
Offers flexibility and local relevance. by allowing school districts to design or enhance their own financial literacy programs with state support, encouraging adaptation to local community needs and resources.
Promotes broader economic understanding and security. by including topics such as insurance, regulatory agencies, tax laws, and inheritance, which can empower young adults to navigate complex financial systems more confidently and responsibly.
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Require High School Financial Classes
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
History
- Referred to education
- Referred to education
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Require High School Financial Classes
In Senate Committee · Education · Sponsor Leroy Comrie
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
109
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 8, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. BERGER, SHIMSKY, LUPARDO, MAHER, BEEPHAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a requirement that instruction in financial education be provided to all pupils in grades nine, ten, eleven or twelve
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 803-c to read as follows:
§ 803-c. Instruction relating to financial education. 1. All pupils in grades nine, ten, eleven or twelve in all public schools in the state shall receive a course or full unit of instruction in financial education delivered by means of a comprehensive financial literacy program.
2. The requirements of this section may be fulfilled through the finance unit of the required high school economics course or the continuation of financial management courses currently being taught in public secondary schools. Additional courses are encouraged to be developed and approved at the local level.
3. The board of education or trustees of the school district is charged with developing and maintaining a financial literacy program for secondary school pupils that shall include, but not be limited to, instruction in the following:
a. recognizing the relationship between financial planning and attaining financial goals;
b. opening and maintaining banking and checking accounts and assessing the quality of banking services;
c. developing a personal budget;
d. analyzing spending, credit purchasing, credit scoring, and managing debt, including retail and credit card debt;
e. calculating interest rates by various methods;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00709-01-5
f. evaluating borrowing options;
g. assessing the implications of an inheritance;
h. computing state and federal income taxes, understanding net versus gross income and required tax deductions;
i. analyzing local tax assessments;
j. assessing different types of investments and how investments help to achieve personal goals;
k. recognizing how investments help to achieve financial goals throughout the stages of an individual's life;
l. analyzing state and federal laws concerning finance;
m. recognizing the basic principles of personal insurance policies;
n. analyzing regulatory agencies and their role;
o. recognizing the importance of planning for retirement and analyzing retirement planning options; and
p. recognizing the importance of insurance as an essential element of financial security.
4. The commissioner shall provide assistance at the local level to aid in the development of curricula for courses of study which shall be age appropriate and developed according to the needs and abilities of pupils in grades nine, ten, eleven or twelve.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.