Opinion

Opinion Roundup: Should financial literacy be a required course for graduation in New York State?

Avery Hai, Julia Pavone, Caitlyn Rissmeyer, and Jordana Sestak • December 4, 2025

Financial literacy covers a range of topics, from investing to filling out the FAFSA. Following attempts to pass bills to set state requirements for financial literacy, and after the recent introduction of a financial literacy class, students share their opinions on whether the course should become a graduation requirement.

The Financial Literacy course is a class that teaches high school students, across the nation, how to be “smart” with their money; however, oftentimes is not a requirement to graduate. 35 states require the course for graduation, but New York is not one of them—yet. There have been attempts to pass legislation for years (see New York State Senate Assembly Bill A2298A), and the New York Board of Regents is currently working towards setting state requirements. Additionally, a New York City initiative called “Financial Literacy for Youth” is working to ensure all city schools offer financial literacy education by 2030. The initiative announced a banking pilot program for schools just a few weeks ago.

However, many schools aren’t waiting for the passing of legislation or education mandates. In recent years, Townsend Harris has begun offering an elective course on financial literacy, taught by health and physical education teacher Jamal Bermudez.

The Classic interviewed students on how important they think it is to learn financial literacy, and if they think a course should be a requirement for graduation.

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“I think I have a pretty good understanding of [financial literacy], as my parents have tried their best to teach me about investments, managing money, and not spending too much. I would like to know more, so that I can plan ahead [for the future]. I think it is really important to be financially educated in life as you need money to do anything and everything in life. I think it is important for people to know how to spend, save, and invest their money. I think that it should be required to graduate because if you don’t have money and don’t spend it wisely, you won’t know what to do with your life. It is most definitely beneficial to take financial literacy; it will help you with college and teach you skills that will be used in your day-to-day life. Taking a financial literacy course allows you to learn about retirement plans, to prepare for your future, and to overall succeed in life.”

— Freshman Isabella DiTomaso

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“I know that we need to be more responsible with our money, especially in this age when we always want to buy new things because of overconsumption, and people don’t think of how it impacts their finances. So, I think it’s important, especially for the younger generation to become more financially responsible and aware. Honestly, I do think it should be a required course because I feel like a lot of people think they already know about financial literacy, but once they get into the real world, they’re going to realize how little they actually understand it. Thus, I think it’s really important that people learn not just how to start spending their money, but also how to invest and take better care of their money.”

— Sophomore Eunbe Choe

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“The financial literacy class THHS offers as an elective was very helpful because I learned a lot more than I expected to. I didn’t even know how to open a bank account or how to save when I joined [this course]. When I left the class, I knew all about scholarships, grants, loans, and even got an introduction to investing. I definitely think that the course should be a requirement to graduate at not just Townsend Harris, but every high school in general. Personal finance is something everyone should learn because they use it all throughout their lives. Money is a really big part of our everyday lives, so we should learn how to manage it and grow it. I also find it [a little] crazy that students are required to learn history, but most of them leave [high school] not even knowing what a checking account or a credit card is.”

— Junior Zaria Llano

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“I think that taking a financial literacy course should be mandatory [to graduate] because students’ finances are prominent in adult life, and it is very important for students, especially seniors getting ready for college, to be financially literate. Taking a financial literacy class should become a priority. Dealing with bills and taxes is something everyone must deal with in the future. I am sure a lot of adults who have never learned firsthand about financial literacy must have experienced problems, so having a class specifically about how to manage finances would have a lot of benefits for future generations. The school should at least make students take it for one semester so that they can learn about their future financial responsibilities. I think that you can know about money, and the economy, and how to handle it but a lot of students who do not know would not be so pressured to learn it if it was not mandatory. I definitely wish that I had taken the class but with schedule arrangements, it can get difficult.”

— Senior Kaiden Martin

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“My interest in teaching financial literacy first started around five years ago, when I began reading books regarding money. After around three years of reading up on how to finance and trying to convince the THHS administration to let me teach a class, they finally got on board. At this point with all the training I’ve gotten, I feel like I’m able to succeed at making financial literacy an interesting and engaging course. Students speak to me about how they’re budgeting now or how their experience has been on filling out FAFSA with their parents based on what they’ve learned in my course. My favorite topic to teach is investing because I feel like that is the most advanced thing to learn when it comes to money, and it’s key to really being successful in life. I think that financial literacy should be a required course to graduate, and I am actually a part of a movement to help get that legislation passed. I feel good about being part of the change to make that legislation happen.”

— Financial Literacy Teacher Jamal Bermudez

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About the Contributors

Bella Chen, Sports Photography Editor

Bella is a senior at Townsend Harris High School who hopes to pursue a career that gives her the opportunity to help people. Outside of journalism, she enjoys playing volleyball and cooking. Her favorite Classic piece she worked on is Scenes from Prom 2024, where she remembers the seniors’ happy faces and the delicious ice cream. Her favorite Classic piece made by others is an article titled “Mr. Wang Retires After Ten Years Serving as a THHS Guidance Counselor,” by Intishar Chinho. Mr. Wang was her guidance counselor and she agreed with all the kind things said about him.

Wing Yan Tan, Art Editor

Wing is a junior in Townsend Harris High School, and she plans on pursuing a career relating to art, math, and perhaps architecture. She loves painting and hanging out with friends. Her favorite Classic piece she has ever worked on is an article about the new captain crew of the Girls Fencing Team, as it was her first published individual article. Her favorite Classic piece made by others is an article about the school’s dress code from 2019. She believes it was nice that students’ voices were being heard.