FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 13, 2023

Proposed Initiative Enters Circulation

Adds One-Semester Personal Finance Course to High School Graduation Requirements.
Initiative Statute.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Secretary of State Dr. Shirley N. Weber announced that the proponents of a new initiative was cleared to begin collecting petition signatures on November 9, 2023.

The Attorney General prepares the legal title and summary that is required to appear on initiative petitions. When the official language is complete, the Attorney General forwards it to the proponents and to the Secretary of State, and the initiative may be circulated for signatures. The Secretary of State then provides a calendar of deadlines to the proponents and to county elections officials. The Attorney General’s official title and summary for the measure is as follows:

ADDS ONE-SEMESTER PERSONAL FINANCE COURSE TO HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Adds one-semester personal finance course to existing graduation requirements for public high school students (including those attending charter schools) beginning with the graduating class in 2030. Requires schools to begin offering the course by the 2026-27 school year. This course would be in addition to currently required one-semester economics course, which may—but is not required to—include personal finance curriculum. Students may fulfill new requirement by completing an existing University of California-approved personal finance course, or a new course approved by a school’s governing body. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local governments: Potential increased costs to schools that could reach in the high tens of millions of dollars annually in the first few years and then likely decline over time. Costs could be related to additional teachers, curriculum development, and instructional materials and would depend on how the measure is implemented. (23-0022.)

The Secretary of State’s tracking number for this measure is 1964 and the Attorney General's tracking number is 23-0022.

The proponents of the measure, Christopher Lee Kaufman and Timothy J. Ranzetta, must collect signatures of 546,651 registered voters (five percent of the total votes cast for governor in the November 2022 general election) in order for the measure to become eligible for the ballot. The proponents have 180 days to circulate petitions for the measure, meaning the signatures must be submitted to county elections officials no later than May 7, 2024. The address for the proponents is c/o George M. Yin, Kaufman Legal Group, 777 S. Figueroa Street, Suite 4050, Los Angeles, CA 90017. The proponents may also be contacted at (213) 452-6565 and gyin@kaufmanlegalgroup.com. 

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