By Dr. Gladys Cruz, District Superintendent, Questar III BOCES
New York State will implement new instructional requirements in personal finance and climate education over the next several years.
The addition of personal finance addresses a long-standing gap in the state’s graduation requirements. Under Phase 2 of NY Inspires – the state’s plan to transform education and change high school graduation requirements – students in grades 5-12 will receive age-appropriate financial instruction, beginning this fall. This includes instruction on budgeting, credit and debt management, risk management, and saving and investing. For K-4 students, the requirement will take effect in the fall of 2027.
According to the Council for Economic Education, 39 states now require students to take a personal finance course to graduate. Research by the National Education Association, Champlain College’s Center for Financial Literacy and others show that students who receive financial literacy in high school make more informed decisions about paying for college, exhibit better credit/debt behaviors, and have better overall financial well-being in life.
Georgia, Idaho, and Texas have also reported higher credit scores and lower relative delinquency rates for students who take a personal finance course compared to those who did not.
Students in grades 5-12 will receive climate education beginning in the 2027-28 school year, with elementary students starting in the 2028-29 school year. This includes the causes, impact, and solutions. New York follows New Jersey, which first implemented this requirement in 2020.
The phased rollout of these new instructional requirements over multiple years and by grade band provides for flexibility in local implementation. Instruction can be provided through embedded instruction into existing subject areas or as a stand-alone course.
Public schools do not need to wait for the established timelines to begin implementation. For example, public schools could provide instruction in personal finance to elementary students starting this fall, if they choose.
New York studied the experiences of other states and worked with expert advisors prior to adopting these requirements. This includes the New York State Comptroller’s Office, National Wildlife Federation, Dr. Carly Urban, a leading national researcher on financial education from Montana State University, and others.
While the personal finance and climate education requirements are new, many schools across the state already offer these classes according to data collected by the State Education Department. During the 2024-25 school year, 602 of the state’s 705 school districts and 35 of the state’s 37 BOCES offered personal finance courses while 561 school districts and 34 BOCES offered climate-related courses. New York City also offers a standalone personal finance class in high school.
The State Education Department spent nearly five years preparing for these changes to high school graduation requirements, including soliciting feedback from the public and members of the state’s education communities. A 64-member Blue Ribbon Commission (I was part of this group) studied other top-performing systems and provided recommendations to the Board of Regents. This included a recommendation that financial literacy become a graduation requirement.
The first phase of the NY Inspires Plan was implemented in July 2025, when the Board of Regents adopted the NYS Portrait of a Graduate. Under NY Inspires, Regents exams would become optional during the 2027-28 school year, and graduates would be permitted to demonstrate their skills and knowledge in other ways, such as completing capstone projects. This shift, which will be phased-in through the Fall of 2029, is part of a broader vision to transform education for our learners to better prepare them for their futures.