California K-12 Economic and Personal Finance Education Hasn’t Been Revised in Thirty-Five Years
Students are ill-equipped to become smart consumers because the K-12 economics requirement has not been strengthened since first implemented in 1985 and there remains no requirement for personal finance.
For Release: Thursday, February 13, 2020
Press Contact: Lexie Nguyen; anguyen@ccee.org; (562)-533-362

Los Angeles, February 13, 2020 – California remains on the short list of states who have yet to incorporate K-12 personal finance education into its state education mandate, according to The Council on Economic Education’s 2020 Survey of the States – a report that indicates which states have implemented economic and personal finance education into their K-12 education requirements.
The California Council on Economic Education, a state-wide nonprofit that provides K-12 economic and personal finance education, is a historic advocate of broadening students exposure to economic education. Among other accomplishments, CCEE championed the 1985 legislation which required a twelfth grade economics course in order to graduate. However, that requirement has remained unchanged since its implementation and personal finance education has yet to be explicitly integrated at all.
“Today, just like in 1985, our students need us to be advocates for their futures. Life-changing economic and personal finance education gives students the opportunity to build the futures they envision – without being vulnerable to critical financial mistakes,” said CCEE’s President and CEO Denise Gutierrez.
Research from the National Endowment for Financial Education has found that mandated personal finance education decreases risky financial behaviors, leading to greater economic security.
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The California Council on Economic Education (CCEE) provides economic and personal finance education and resources to K-12 teachers, students, and their parents throughout California in order to help them gain a real-world understanding of economics and personal finance, so they can make better decisions to compete and succeed in the global economy. Full Media Kit