More than half of the public school districts in New Mexico have made financial literacy a high school graduation requirement in the 2025-2026 school year thanks to advocacy by Think New Mexico, a “result-oriented think tank serving New Mexicans.”
The initiative aims to not only equip students with essential life skills, but more broadly focuses on addressing the state’s high poverty rates and empowering students and their families to build a secure financial future.
The new curriculum covers financial concepts like budgeting, saving, investing, credit scores and the costs of borrowing. Fred Nathan, Jr., executive director of Think New
Mexico, underscored the urgency of this initiative in New Mexico, which is ranked 49th in income nationwide.
“We believe this is the best anti-poverty strategy going,” he said.
Nathan noted that students often share these lessons with their families, amplifying the impact.
“When high school students learn personal finance, they often bring those lessons home to their parents and grandparents, benefiting the whole family,” Nathan said.
Española Public Schools, under the leadership of former superintendent Eric Spencer, was among the first of the 48 New Mexico districts to adopt the financial literacy curriculum. Nathan commended Spencer’s role.
“He (Spencer) really deserves a lot of credit for getting Española to be one of the first districts in New Mexico to make financial literacy a high school graduation requirement,” Nathan said.
EPS Board President Javin Coriz emphasized the initiative’s importance.
“Making financial literacy a graduation requirement was based on a few factors,” he said. “One of which was the high poverty rate in our district. We are hopeful that making this class a requirement will give students the knowledge and ability to manage their money effectively while enabling them to make informed financial decisions and build stability.”
Of New Mexico’s 89 school districts, 41 have yet to adopt financial literacy as a graduation requirement for students entering ninth grade in 2025-2026, according to Think New
Mexico. Nationwide, 29 states guarantee financial literacy education for all public high school students, covering 76% of U.S. high schoolers, according to NextGen Personal Finance.
New Mexico’s inclusion of the new financial literacy curriculum, while improving, still lags behind the U.S. rate, with only 48.34% of students in public school districts in New Mexico currently receiving the curriculum. Nathan attributes this gap, in part, to the state legislature’s decision to defer to local districts rather than mandating financial literacy curriculum statewide.
“Naturally, we would have preferred to get a state statute,” Nathan said, noting that the decentralized approach has created a “checkerboard system.”
However, he praised the flexibility it affords, as 36 districts chose a year-long course over the initially proposed semester-long requirement.
To ensure high-quality instruction, Think New Mexico is partnering with NGPF to provide free curriculum and professional development to teachers across New Mexico. On Sept. 18, it will host a full-day conference in Albuquerque for teachers, offering free training, hotel accommodations, mileage and meals to educators from districts across the state. NGPF’s curriculum, described by Nathan as the “gold standard,” engages students through practical exercises, such as a classroom activity where students use beans as currency to learn how to make informed budgeting decisions.
“You see these kids arguing with each other, but laughing and totally engaged,” Nathan said of the interactive approach.
The impact of financial literacy is measurable. Studies cited by Think New Mexico show that students with financial education are 21% less likely to carry credit card balances and shift toward low-cost credit options. The New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee reported higher credit scores and savings rates among students in states like Georgia, Idaho, and Texas after financial literacy mandates.
With momentum now behind Think New Mexico’s initiative, Nathan sees opportunity among the challenge in the push to make financial literacy a graduation requirement at the remaining 41 New Mexico public school districts which have yet to adopt the curriculum.
“We hope the other 41 districts will soon join the growing number of New Mexico school districts that guarantee that their students will receive a class in financial literacy before they graduate,” Nathan said.
Think New Mexico plans to engage these districts in the spring, leveraging the success of the initial 48 districts to encourage broader inclusion of the curriculum across the state.
As Española students prepare to enter a world of complex financial decisions, Think New Mexico’s initiative focuses on creating a usable knowledge base that encourages long-term financial freedom and independence for the next generation of New Mexicans.
“This class will build crucial concepts like budgeting, saving and investing,” Coriz said. “In the end, we hope that it will empower students to navigate the complexities of personal finance while helping them make informed choices and build a more secure and stable financial future.”