From Think New Mexico:

Forty-five of New Mexico’s 89 school districts, reaching 46.93% of all public school students in the state, have made financial literacy a high school graduation requirement for students entering ninth grade in the 2025-2026 school year and thereafter, according to a new survey completed by Think New Mexico. Thirty-five of those districts require completion of a year-long financial literacy course, while ten require at least a semester. Think New Mexico recommended ensuring that all students receive high-quality financial literacy education since the 2020 publication of its policy report on strategies to end predatory lending.

According to the national nonprofit NetGen Personal Finance, which advocates for making financial literacy a graduation requirement, over the last five years the number of states guaranteeing all public high school students will take a financial literacy course before graduating has more than tripled from eight to 27. Today, 64% of U.S. public high school students attend schools in states with financial literacy graduation requirements.

During the 2024 legislative session, the legislature passed and Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed House Bill 171, revising the state’s high school graduation requirements. While the total number of credits that high school students must complete remains at 24, two of those 24 credits are now designated by each school district at the local level. Since passage of the 2024 law, Think New Mexico has urged superintendents and school boards across the state to adopt financial literacy as one of those local credits through letters, emails, phone conversations and personal meetings.

Financial literacy courses teach students critically important life skills, like budgeting, saving, investing, credit scores, and the costs of borrowing. When students increase their financial literacy, studies have found that they shift from high-cost to low-cost sources of credit and student loans, and are 21% less likely to carry a balance on a credit card. The New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee reported that after financial education was mandated in the states of Georgia, Idaho and Texas, students who participated in the programs had higher credit scores and higher savings rates.

“When high school students learn personal finance, they often bring those lessons home to their parents and grandparents, benefitting the whole family,” says Fred Nathan, Jr., Executive Director of Think New Mexico. “We hope the other 44 districts will soon join this growing movement.”

In order to ensure that required financial literacy classes are high quality NextGen Personal Finance offers free curriculum and professional development for financial literacy teachers, and even offers stipends for teachers to complete the training if their districts make financial literacy a graduation requirement. Many of New Mexico’s local credit unions and nonprofits like JumpStart also provide support for financial literacy education.

Summary of NM School Districts and Financial Literacy Requirements for 2025-2026

Total Student Population in New Mexico: 308,913

Number of Districts that require Financial Literacy as a high school graduation requirement in 2025-2026: 45 

Update: On Friday, June 6, 2025, West Las Vegas became the 46^th district and brings the total % of students to 47.43% who now are guaranteed access to financial literacy as a high school graduation requirement.

Number of Students in these Districts: 144,958

Percentage of Total Student Population in these Districts: 46.93%

About Think New Mexico:

Think New Mexico is a results-oriented think tank whose mission is to improve the lives of all New Mexicans, especially those who lack a strong voice in the political process. It fulfills this mission by educating the public, the media, and policymakers about some of the most serious challenges facing New Mexico and by developing and advocating for enduring, effective, evidence-based solutions. TO learn more, visit thinknewmexico.org.