New York Students Deserve Better Than Half-Measures on Financial Education
Public high school students in New York may soon face the same illiteracy challenge that I did when I graduated. For all I learned about critical thinking, cultural diversity, and grit, nowhere in the curriculum were lessons on personal finance.
I had to teach myself how to decode the fine print of a credit card bill, how compounding could work for or against me, or how to protect myself from predatory lenders. And it cost me money, opportunity, and years of financial stress. New York is now about to codify that gap for future generations.
While 30 states require high school students to complete a semester-long course in personal finance, the New York State Board of Regents released a proposal that falls short as it fails to require a 0.5 credit semester course.
This is a historic moment, and it’s time for true leadership that could transform the lives of millions of students and their families.
The proposal, as written, requires “financial literacy instruction“ by the 12th grade, but data shows that requiring a standalone course is six times more effective at improving long-term financial well-being. Students who take a dedicated semester course have measurably higher credit scores, make better student loan choices, and achieve higher savings rates. Requiring financial literacy instruction without a dedicated course, leads to no improvement at all. In other words, New York is poised to adopt a policy that research has already proven ineffective.
The consequences of this approach disproportionately impact underrepresented communities and lower-income students. National research at Next Gen Personal Finance shows that high schools with student populations that are more than 75% Black or Hispanic are half as likely to guarantee access to a personal finance course compared to schools where fewer than 25% of students are Black or Hispanic. Similarly, in schools where more than 75% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, only 4.6% guarantee access to a personal finance course.
These aren’t just statistics. These are the communities most targeted by predatory financial products and services, like payday lenders. They’re what Commissioner Betty Rosa and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli wrote about when they called for financial education last year.
As they noted, “Young adults are increasingly facing higher levels of debt whether from student loans or credit cards, and many from lower-income households fall victim to predatory lending, scams, and high-interest loans.”
They added, “It’s time for New York to catch up to states who for decades have taught a financial literacy course and required it for high school graduation.” This solution they advocate for—a standalone course—is what research supports. It’s what students and teachers are eager for. And it’s what New York voters overwhelmingly demand. In a December 2025 poll by Public Policy Polling, 86% of New Yorkers expressed support for making personal finance a standalone graduation requirement with an overwhelming consensus across all demographics. That’s not a slim majority. It’s a mandate!
Cost is not a barrier. A 2024 Tyton Partners report shows this course delivers $107,000 per student in New York. Meanwhile, the cost to implement this course is minimal to zero given the wealth of free, high-quality curriculum resources and teacher professional development training available from providers like Jump$tart Coalition, Khan Academy, Next Gen Personal Finance, Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, FDIC, and more. The question isn’t whether we can afford this. It’s whether we can afford not to!
Teachers are ready, too. Nearly 1,150 New York teachers have already completed over 35,000 hours of professional development with Next Gen Personal Finance. We have a trained corps ready to teach this course with confidence and competence, and we’re training more educators every day through free online and in-person professional development.
New York has always prided itself on educational excellence. The Regents even noted in their Blue Ribbon Commission survey that financial literacy was one of the most frequent responses when New Yorkers were asked what skills students need by the end of high school.
The State Education Department and the Board of Regents have the opportunity to put high schoolers on the right path now by amending their regulatory proposal to require a dedicated, semester-long course in personal finance for high school graduation. The alternative is thousands more New York students graduating unprepared. They sign loan documents they don’t understand. They make credit decisions that will haunt them for years. They fall victim to scams that could have been avoided with basic financial knowledge. It’s time for New York, the financial capital of the world, to start leading again.
Yanely Espinal is Director of Educational Outreach at Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF.org), a national nonprofit offering free personal finance curriculum and free teacher professional development training.
