State officials, educators to pre-file bill making financial education a graduation requirement

State Treasurer (speaker 1) and Senator Adrian Cortez announced a joint effort to pre-file legislation that would make financial education a high-school graduation requirement in Washington.

At a press conference, the treasurer said financial education is not currently required in Washington schools and described the change as “a critical tool for economic empowerment.” Senator Cortez, a K–12 special education teacher and parent, said he will lead the effort in the Senate and emphasized that teaching students basic financial skills prepares them for adult life. "I am so very excited to be leading this effort," Cortez said, adding he expects broad bipartisan support.

Educators and community partners who spoke at the event framed the proposal as practical and equity-focused. Vanessa Veil Medina, a public-school teacher in Vancouver Public Schools, said students grapple immediately with choices such as student loans, car loans and leases and that "confidently managing personal finances is a lifetime competency that every Washington student deserves." Christy Johnson, board chair of the Washington Council for Economic and Financial Education, called financial literacy a social-justice issue and warned that new risks—such as online gambling and app-driven day trading—are targeting young people.

Tracy Godat, executive director of the Financial Education Public Private Partnership, described nearly two decades of free curriculum resources and teacher professional development that the partnership makes available. Joe Adamec, representing Washington credit unions, said in-school branch programs and credit-union partnerships can expand practical learning and job-skill pathways for students.

In a question-and-answer session, a reporter noted that the House previously passed a version of a financial-education bill by a 94–3 margin. Senator Cortez said that version included reporting requirements that raised fiscal concerns for school districts and the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). He said the pre-filed bill aims to reduce those reporting burdens to keep fiscal impacts low and that the proposal anticipates integration with the State Board of Education's "Future Ready" curriculum review process. Officials said the targeted implementation date in the bill is 2033 but could be earlier if integration with the State Board's process allows.

Speakers repeatedly emphasized flexibility for districts. The treasurer and Cortez said the legislation would set a graduation requirement while allowing school districts to tailor curriculum to local needs, using materials and professional development already available through partnerships.

No formal vote or bill text was introduced at the conference; the treasurer said the office would pre-file legislation with Senator Cortez this week and that staff would be available for individual follow-up questions. The event concluded with organizers offering to meet individually with stakeholders to discuss curriculum, implementation and fiscal questions.