This bill amends an existing statute (RCW 28A.300.468) and adds a new section to chapter 28A.230 RCW to make financial education instruction a high school graduation requirement in Washington. It requires OSPI, after consulting the state’s financial education public-private partnership, to make available to school districts a list of instructional materials that align with the state financial education learning standards (RCW 28A.300.469). School districts must offer all students in grades 9–12 opportunities to access those standards in a variety of formats, publicize the opportunities to students and families, and are encouraged to grant graduation credit for successful completion. The measure creates a new procedural requirement that each district operating a high school provide instruction consistent with the state standards by or before the 2029–30 school year, and that students meet the financial education learning standards to graduate beginning with the earlier of the graduating class of 2033 or an earlier class if recommended by the State Board of Education (SBE). The bill imposes multiple administrative duties and deadlines: districts must report their current financial education offerings and needs to the SBE and the public-private partnership by December 15, 2025; the SBE must recommend adjustments to graduation requirements and submit recommendations to the governor and legislative education committees by December 31, 2026; the public-private partnership must produce a statewide implementation plan for submission by December 31, 2026; districts must begin publicizing the requirement by the 2027–28 school year; and the SBE must review and monitor compliance and provide a summary of information for school years 2027–28 and 2028–29 to legislative committees by January 10, 2029. The new section allows principals to grant individual waivers for grade 12 students who could not meet the requirement due to prior residence outside Washington, and it explicitly applies the requirement to charter schools and state-tribal education compact schools. The text provided does not include the full financial education learning standards, the prior full text of RCW 28A.300.468 being amended, or any specific content of the standards, and it does not include the SBE’s eventual recommendation specifying an earlier graduating class if one is proposed.

If enacted, every Washington high school must offer financial education to all students by the 2029–30 school year and students will have to meet state financial education learning standards to graduate beginning with the earlier of the class of 2033 or an earlier year the State Board of Education recommends. School districts must inventory and report current offerings and needs by December 15, 2025; begin publicizing the instruction and the coming graduation requirement by 2027–28; and may be asked to change course offerings or grant credit so students can meet the requirement. The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction will publish a list of aligned instructional materials after consulting the existing financial education public‑private partnership, which must also produce a statewide implementation plan and may recommend grant and professional development funding. The most affected parties are school districts, high school students, principals, the State Board of Education, OSPI, and the financial education public‑private partnership. Districts will take on new responsibilities to offer and publicize instruction, collect and submit required reports, and possibly provide teacher training or new courses—creating likely costs and administrative work—while principals can grant narrow waivers for some seniors. The bill leaves key practical details unclear here: the content of the learning standards, the size or source of any funding, and whether the SBE will accelerate the graduation timeline before 2033.