Z-0526.1
SENATE BILL 5849
State of Washington
69th Legislature
2026 Regular Session
By Senators Cortes, Valdez, Gildon, Hasegawa, Nobles, Orwall, Riccelli, Slatter, Trudeau, and C. Wilson; by request of State Treasurer
Prefiled 12/08/25. Read first time 01/12/26. Referred to Committee on Early Learning & K-12 Education.
AN ACT Relating to making financial education a graduation requirement in Washington state; amending RCW 28A.300.468 ; adding a new section to chapter 28A.230 RCW; and creating a new section.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature recognizes that acquiring and applying a basic knowledge of personal finance is critical to the economic well-being of all adults. Without this knowledge, persons are much less well equipped to navigate the complicated financial issues of modern life, including household budgets, consumer debt, loan applications and obligations, and successful retirement planning.
(2) The legislature also recognizes that it has taken meaningful steps to support financial education instruction in public schools, including establishing the financial education public-private partnership in 2004, adopting financial education learning standards in 2015, and providing funds in 2022 for financial education professional development for certificated staff.