Mandatory money and climate classes coming to all public schools in New York

ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — As of Tuesday, the New York State Board of Regents is officially mandating coursework in personal finance and climate science in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade. It’s the second phase of the plan to change high school graduation requirements.

The first phase of the NY Inspires Plan to overhaul the system took effect in July when they adopted the NYS Portrait of a Graduate. More guidance on and next steps for the new system are slated for March 2026.

New York State Education Department Commissioner Betty Rosa said the changes will expand the scope of college, career, and civic readiness. Board of Regents Chancellor Lester Young, Jr. said, “Every student in New York deserves a meaningful education that prepares them not only for college and career, but for life.”

New requirements aim to inform students, make them capable of managing their own finances, and keep them invested in conservation. They’ll take effect over several school years so districts can prepare and realign their current curricula.

Personal finance education starts in the 2026 to 2027 school year for students in grades five through twelve. It will start for kindergarteners to fourth graders in the 2027 to 2028 school year. Climate education starts in 2027/2028 for students after fifth grade and in 2028/2029 for students below fifth grade.

NYSED worked with expert advisors to select topics. They also looked at how states like Utah, Washington, and Tennessee approached financial education. Personal finance instruction will include budgeting, money management, credit and debt, earning income, risk management, saving, and investing. Climate class will focus on the causes and effects of and solutions to climate change.

The requirement is new, but some schools already offer such classes. In 2024/2025, 602 public school districts had 215,062 students in personal finance courses, and 561 enrolled 135,830 in climate-related courses, making up the majority of enrollment. Data also tallied 34 BOCES programs and 47 charter schools offered climate education to a combined 6,783 students, while 35 BOCES and 37 charters offered personal finance to 25,165 students. New York City also has a pilot program offering standalone personal finance classes in high school.

Local districts are supposed to have flexible options to teach these subjects. Teachers can offer stand-alone courses or lessons or embed them into their current subjects. Environmental, earth, and space science classes already incorporate climate issues, and personal finance can be folded into consumer economics, general applied math, or career and technical education programming.

“Financial Education is the preventative measure that eliminates the mistakes of the past and breaks the generational cycle of money mismanagement,” said Dr. Carly Urban, a Professor of Economics at Montana State University quoted in a NYSED press release announcing the new requirements.

The state will verify that schools are implementing the new requirements over three years. Verification for personal finance education runs from the 2026/2027 through the 2028/2029 school years, while climate education verification runs from 2027/2028 through 2028/2029. Districts have to submit verification online, through NYSED’s business portal.

Today, New York students can earn three types of diplomas—a local diploma, a Regents diploma, or an Advanced Regents diploma, with specific credit and assessment requirements. The NY Inspires plan is supposed to culminate in a single diploma system and new standards for transcripts. Full implementation is scheduled for fall 2029, and the entire plan is projected to cost $11.5 million.