On May 4, Indiana Governor Eric Holcomb signed Senate Bill 35, officially making Indiana the 19th state in the nation to guarantee personal finance education for high school graduates. Senate Bill 35 was sponsored by Senator Mike Gaskill (R - Pendleton) and passed unanimously through both chambers of the legislature.

“This is a great bill and a necessary promise to Indiana high school students that guarantees them access to a full semester of 21st century-relevant financial education. This is the class most adults will tell you they wish they had taken,” said Yanely Espinal, Director of Educational Outreach at Next Gen Personal Finance. “We specifically applaud the efforts of Senator Gaskill for his passion and determination in achieving this for all Indiana students.”

The legislation requires personal finance to be a separate subject and to provide instruction on a number of content areas including managing credit scores, investing, and filing taxes. This new requirement applies to all graduates in the year 2028 and beyond.

“Indiana’s success continues to build upon the strong momentum we’ve seen across state legislatures over the past two years,” said Tim Ranzetta, co-founder of Next Gen Personal Finance. “There’s been a clear parental demand for personal finance education and Indiana enacted a flexible solution that respects local control of schools.”

Next Gen Personal Finance is a national nonprofit dedicated to providing the best personal finance curriculum and professional development to teachers across all 50 states, and does so at no cost. They created the Mission 2030 Fund to become involved in advocacy efforts and were a strong supporter of Senate Bill 35.

About the Author

Hannah Rael

As NGPF's Marketing Communications Manager, Hannah (she/her) helps spread the word about NGPF's mission to improve the financial lives of the next generation of Americans.