The Committee of the Full Board of the Texas State Board of Education discussed implementation steps for House Bill 27 on Sept. 8, 2025, including which course will satisfy the new half‑credit personal financial literacy (PFL) graduation requirement and how to expand the existing economics course to a full credit option for students entering ninth grade in 2026‑27.

Staff presenter Jessica Snyder of the Texas Education Agency told the committee the legislation requires the board to (1) identify the PFL course that will satisfy the new graduation requirement, (2) amend graduation‑requirement rules and possibly required curriculum, and (3) amend the TEKS for the current economics course (currently a half‑credit course) so districts may offer a one‑credit economics option. Snyder said the options staff has presented to the board are the existing one‑half‑credit Personal Financial Literacy course (adopted in 2016) and the one‑half‑credit Personal Financial Literacy and Economics combination course (adopted in 2022 under Senate Bill 1063).

Why it matters: House Bill 27 changes the social studies graduation requirement for students who enter ninth grade beginning in the 2026‑27 school year by making a one‑half‑credit personal financial literacy requirement mandatory. That change interacts with the second social‑studies credit (the option to take world history, world geography or a full credit of economics), and the board must update TEKS and rules so districts can offer compliant courses on the schedule set by the legislature.

The board heard one public testifier, Ray Hudgell of Southern Methodist University’s Cox School of Business, who supported a required PFL course but urged that economic concepts such as scarcity, opportunity cost and supply and demand be included: “We can’t teach personal financial literacy without those concepts of economics,” Hudgell said.

Discussion highlights and staff direction
- Course choices: Snyder asked the board to choose a starting place for the required half‑credit PFL course. Staff identified two existing approved courses as starting points: 1) Personal Financial Literacy (TEKS §113.49, adopted 2016) and 2) Personal Financial Literacy and Economics (TEKS §113.76, adopted 2022). The economics course now referenced is Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System and Its Benefits (TEKS §113.31), currently a half‑credit course that staff recommended be expanded to a full credit to match the statutory option added in HB27.
- Legal and statutory questions: Von Beyer, General Counsel for TEA, and other legal staff participated in questions about how much economics content may be included in a PFL course given the recent statutes; the board heard that the 2022 combination course was written with two‑thirds PFL content and one‑third economics content and that the board has flexibility in how it amends TEKS.
- Timeline and process: Staff outlined a compressed timeline to meet the 2026‑27 effective date if the board wants a new or revised course available that school year. Snyder said a practical schedule would include discussion in January, first reading in April and final adoption in June; she also described the usual option of a smaller work group to accelerate TEKS drafting and curricular guidance.
- Instructional materials and curricula: Board members asked about the agency requirement in the legislation to develop or list free, publicly available curricula that districts may use. Staff said they can work concurrently on instructional‑materials guidance once the board identifies which course to use as a starting point and a process for TEKS revision.

Board action and next steps
No formal rule changes or votes were taken at the Sept. 8 meeting. The board chair said staff will “post for the next meeting, for discussion with action possible, for both courses” (the pure PFL course and the PFL‑and‑economics combination) so the board may vote at that later meeting on a starting point and related process. Staff was directed to return in November with a graduation‑requirements item that includes 1) the PFL course decision (two alternatives) and 2) the expansion of the economics course from a half credit to a full credit.

Other technical and policy clarifications
- Effective cohort: The new requirement applies to students entering ninth grade beginning in the 2026‑27 school year.
- TEKS and course references discussed by staff: Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System (TEKS §113.31); Personal Financial Literacy (TEKS §113.49); Personal Financial Literacy and Economics (TEKS §113.76).
- Advanced placement and dual‑enrollment questions: Board members asked whether AP or dual‑enrollment courses could be designated as rigorous alternatives. Staff said they will analyze which AP/dual‑enrollment courses are substantively equivalent and bring that analysis to the November discussion.

What the board did not do: The board did not adopt TEKS changes, declare the single course that will satisfy the new requirement, or vote to finalize graduation‑requirement rules at the Sept. 8 meeting. Those actions were slated for a later meeting after staff posts alternative proposals and the board reviews work‑group recommendations.

Ending note: Staff emphasized the compressed schedule to be ready for the 2026‑27 school year and recommended using a small, focused work group to draft any needed TEKS amendments quickly; several board members said they intend to propose content advisors and participants to accelerate that work.