Pennsylvania will soon be one of only 25 states to require high schools to provide a mandatory personal finance literacy class, writes Maddie Hanna for The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The requirement will begin in 2026-2027, but the full implementation across the state hasn’t yet been worked out.

The class must be worth at least half a credit and is considered a requirement for graduation.

“No offense to biology teachers or calculus teachers, but this class is going to be information they are going to use every day of their life,” said State Sen. Chris Gebhard (R., Lebanon).

Gebhard worked with Next Gen Personal Finance, a nonprofit that advocates for all high school students to take a semester of personal finance before graduating to write the legislation.

“We want students to be able to make smart decisions about money in the real world,” said Christian Sherrill, director of advocacy for Next Gen.

In high school, students are already making financial decisions about college and buying a car, but not all schools offer a personal finance literacy class.

In Pennsylvania last year, a little more than half of the high school students had access to such a course, but most of the courses were being held in more affluent school districts.

Read more about the new personal finance literacy requirement for high school in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

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