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SB-1147 • 2026

Pupil instruction: high school graduation requirements: personal finance.

Pupil instruction: high school graduation requirements: personal finance.

Education
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Ochoa Bogh
Last action
2026-04-10
Official status
Set for hearing April 22.
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The bill summary and digest do not provide specific details on financial literacy topics that must be covered in personal finance courses.

High School Graduation Requirements: Personal Finance

The bill requires high schools to offer personal finance courses as part of the curriculum, allowing these courses to be integrated into other subjects if they meet certain criteria.

What This Bill Does

  • Requires local educational agencies to provide a separate one-semester course in personal finance for students starting from the 2027–28 school year.
  • Allows schools to integrate personal finance into existing courses if those courses meet specific quality and content standards, satisfying both the personal finance requirement and potentially exempting economics requirements.
  • Authorizes local educational agencies to award credits towards graduation requirements for completing integrated personal finance courses.

Who It Names or Affects

  • High school students in grades 9 to 12
  • Local educational agencies offering high school programs

Terms To Know

Instructional Quality Commission
A commission that recommends curriculum frameworks for the State Board of Education.
Stand-alone course
A separate, distinct class not combined with other subjects.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill does not specify how schools will implement these changes or provide additional funding.
  • It is unclear if all local educational agencies will choose to integrate personal finance into existing courses rather than offering a stand-alone course.

Bill History

  1. 2026-04-10 California Legislative Information

    Set for hearing April 22.

  2. 2026-04-08 California Legislative Information

    Re-referred to Coms. on ED. and APPR.

  3. 2026-03-24 California Legislative Information

    From committee with author's amendments. Read second time and amended. Re-referred to Com. on RLS.

  4. 2026-02-26 California Legislative Information

    Referred to Com. on RLS.

  5. 2026-02-19 California Legislative Information

    From printer. May be acted upon on or after March 21.

  6. 2026-02-18 California Legislative Information

    Introduced. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. To print.

Official Summary Text

SB 1147, as amended, Ochoa Bogh.
Adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12: automobile driver education.
Pupil instruction: high school graduation requirements: personal finance.
Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education and consider including, when revising the history-social science curriculum framework, age-appropriate information on specified financial literacy topics for kindergarten and grades 1 to 12, inclusive, as provided.
Existing law requires a pupil to complete designated coursework while in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, in order to receive a diploma of graduation from high school. These graduation requirements include, among others, the completion of 3 courses in social studies, including a one-semester course in economics. Commencing with pupils graduating in the 2030–31 school year, existing
law requires the completion of a separate, stand-alone one-semester course in personal finance that is prohibited from being combined with any other course. Existing law requires this personal finance course to include information on all of, and only, the above-described financial literacy topics recommended for inclusion in the revised history-social science curriculum framework. Commencing with the 2027–28 school year, existing law requires a local educational agency with pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, to offer a separate, stand-alone one-semester course in personal finance, and also authorizes a local educational agency to exempt a pupil who completes such a course from the graduation requirement to complete a one-semester course in economics.
If a local educational agency elects to offer a personal finance course offered as part of an integrated, year-long course that is equivalent in quality and rigor to the stand-alone personal finance course and that
has a course scope that includes, at a minimum, the above-described financial literacy topics recommended for inclusion in the revised history-social science curriculum framework, this bill would (1) deem that course to satisfy the above-described graduation requirement to complete a stand-alone personal finance course, (2) additionally authorize the local educational agency to exempt a pupil who completes such a course from the graduation requirement to complete a one-semester course in economics, (3) deem that course to satisfy the above-described requirement on local educational agencies with pupils in grades 9 to 12, inclusive, to offer a separate, stand-alone one-semester course in personal finance, and (4) authorize the local educational agency to also award credit to a pupil who completes such a course for coursework in that year-long course in the subject the course is offered, including, if applicable, credit toward satisfying a course required for a diploma of graduation from high school.
Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer courses in specified areas of study, including, among others, automobile driver education that is designed to develop a knowledge of the Vehicle Code and other laws of this state relating to the operation of motor vehicles, a proper
acceptance of personal responsibility in traffic, a true appreciation of the causes, seriousness, and consequences of traffic accidents, and the knowledge and attitudes necessary for the safe operation of motor vehicles. Existing law requires automobile driver education to also be designed to develop a knowledge of the dangers involved in consuming alcohol or drugs in connection with the operation of a motor vehicle.
This bill would make a nonsubstantive change to that latter provision.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Download Bill PDF