New Mexico

New Mexico House Bill 171 & Personal Financial Literacy Courses for High Schoolers

In February 2024, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed House Bill 171 into law, marking a major update to New Mexico’s high school graduation requirements. While the bill doesn’t mandate personal financial literacy (PFL) statewide, it does require all school districts to add two new locally determined graduation requirements starting in the 2025–26 school year.

This has created a significant opportunity for districts to adopt personal financial literacy as one of those credits, and many already are.

A Statewide Shift Toward Financial Literacy

For years, education advocates—including Think New Mexico—have pushed for financial literacy to become a core part of high school education. Despite attempts to write it directly into HB 171, it wasn’t included in the final language. Still, the flexibility in the bill gave districts the green light to implement it locally—and they’re moving quickly.

As of August 2025, 48+ New Mexico school districts—including Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Carlsbad, Lordsburg, Lovington, and Los Alamos—have already made financial literacy a graduation requirement. These districts now reach over one-third of the state’s public high school students.

Adding to the momentum, Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF) is offering:

  • Free curriculum and training for New Mexico educators
  • A $500 stipend (in the form of an Amazon gift card) to the first 50 New Mexico high school teachers who complete 20 hours of professional development starting January 2025

These incentives aim to make implementation smoother for educators while ensuring high-quality instruction across the state.

What Do Personal Financial Literacy Courses Include?

Personal financial literacy courses are designed to equip students with real-world financial skills—many of which they’ll need immediately after graduation. Topics typically include:

  • Budgeting income and managing expenses
  • Saving & investing (short- and long-term goals, compound interest)
  • Understanding credit: credit cards, interest, debt, and credit scores
  • Taxes: income tax, paycheck deductions, and filing basics
  • Banking basics: how to open and manage a checking/savings account
  • Student loans and college affordability
  • Insurance and risk management
  • Identity protection and fraud prevention

In some cases, schools may offer this course as a standalone elective or integrate it into social studies or mathematics coursework, depending on available staff and schedules.

Why Financial Literacy? Why Now?

New Mexico’s public education system is responding to a growing demand: give students practical tools to navigate adult life. As Charlie Bergman, a financial literacy educator working with the New Mexico Public Education Department, put it, “They’re psychologically ready for it. They do well at it. They’re interested”.

These courses aren’t just practical—they’re highly engaging. Students appreciate learning about money, especially when it’s framed around scenarios they relate to: car loans, credit card interest, budgeting for college, and managing a paycheck. The earlier these conversations happen, the more confident students become in managing their financial future.

How Progress Learning Supports Districts in New Mexico

Progress Learning is designed to help districts implement personal financial literacy seamlessly. Our platform provides everything schools need to align instruction, support diverse learners, and track student progress, all within a single, easy-to-use system.

Here’s how:

Standards-Aligned Economics and Financial Literacy Content

  • We offer financial literacy lessons aligned with New Mexico’s updated social studies standards, including the 33 financial literacy benchmarks added by the PED in 2021, 25 of which came from Think New Mexico’s recommendations. Check out a sample item from our New Mexico economics and financial literacy course:



TEIs (Technology-Enhanced Items)

  • Prepare students for modern digital assessments and build confidence through interactive formats that mimic real-world scenarios.

Flexible Assessment Tools

  • Use pre-built assessments or build your own to measure learning. All assessments integrate with real-time reports and remediation tools.

Individualized Support and Remediation

  • For high school students who need additional help, Progress Learning provides personalized Study Plans and learning paths based on diagnostic or benchmark data. These tailored supports help address skill gaps and guide students toward mastery of key concepts, including those connected to financial literacy.

College & Career Readiness Pathways

  • Our platform supports multiple high school pathways whether students are pursuing CTE, dual enrollment, or workforce entry. Financial literacy content can be flexibly embedded across these tracks.

Budget-Friendly Campus Pricing

  • Progress Learning offers flat-rate campus pricing with no per-student fees—making it especially cost-effective for larger or growing high schools.

Looking Ahead

House Bill 171 has paved the way for districts to choose graduation requirements that truly prepare students for life. Personal financial literacy is emerging as one of the most practical and impactful ways to meet that goal.

Whether your district has already made financial literacy a requirement or is still considering the path forward, Progress Learning offers the tools, content, and flexibility to support a smooth implementation.

We’re here to help make this shift successful for your students, your educators, and your community. Want to see more of our economics and financial literacy content specifically made for New Mexico schools? Fill out the form below.

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