Governor Newsom expands financial literacy in schools and wealth-building access for women

In partnership with First Partner Siebel Newsom, signs executive order to expand women's access to capital and wealth-building opportunities

What you need to know: California is strengthening financial literacy and expanding pathways to wealth. Today, Governor Newsom announced the adoption of a statewide personal finance curriculum guide to prepare students with real-world money skills - and signed an executive order to expand women's access to capital, savings, and investment opportunities.

SAN LORENZO - Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that California is moving forward with a stand-alone, one-semester personal finance course for high school students - a major step toward ensuring every student graduates with the tools to manage money, avoid debt, and build wealth. The State Board of Education adopted a curriculum guide and resources, implementing Assembly Bill 2927 (McCarty), signed by Governor Newsom in 2024.

Governor Newsom today also issued an executive order to expand opportunities for women and their families to build wealth and fully participate in California's world-leading economy. Together with First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom and members of the California Women's Wealth Advisory Council, the Governor signed the order during Women's History Month to showcase the need to support women and girls at every stage of wealth-building, from financial literacy and early savings to business ownership and long-term investment.

Financial literacy is a life skill. We're making sure every California student graduates ready to earn, save, invest, and build wealth - while also expanding access so more women and families can fully participate in our economy.

Governor Gavin Newsom

When women have the opportunity to build wealth, families are stronger, communities are healthier, and our economy grows. This executive order, paired with expanded financial literacy education, helps close the wealth gap and opens more pathways for women to save, invest, and fully participate in California's incredible economy.

First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom

California's new personal finance curriculum

California's new personal finance curriculum guide ensures students gain practical, real-world financial skills before graduation. The curriculum guide - developed by the Instructional Quality Commission and adopted by the State Board of Education - includes:

• Banking, saving, and avoiding unnecessary fees
• Budgeting and managing everyday expenses
• Credit, debt, and credit scores
• Student loans and financing higher education and careers
• Investing, retirement savings, and wealth-building tools
• Pathways to college, careers, and apprenticeships
• Learning about scholarships, merit aid, student loans, and California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program (CalKIDS) - free college and career savings accounts launched by Governor Newsom in 2022.

The course will be offered beginning in the 2027-28 school year, with completion required for graduation starting with the class of 2030-31.

Building wealth early: CalKIDS

The financial literacy bill aligns with state efforts to prepare students early on for a healthier financial future. In 2022, Governor Newsom established the nation's largest college and career savings program - CalKIDS - which has invested $1.9 billion into accounts for low-income school-age children in grades 1-12 and for all children born on or after July 1, 2022. All families of low-income public school students - 3.4 million across the state - are able to access college savings accounts, funded with seed deposits up to $1,500,created in their children's names.

Governor Newsom also recently announced a partnership between CalKIDS, the California Community Colleges Chancellor's Office, and the California Cradle-to-Career Data System to identify eligible community college students and connect them with CalKIDS Scholarships - part of the state's program providing college scholarship funds for every child. The coordinated effort already identified 40,000 community college students with over $20 million in available scholarships.

Closing the gender wealth gap

The executive order Governor Newsom signed today will:

• Launch a statewide effort to expand women's access to capital, financial education, and wealth-building opportunities across California.
• Build on programs like CalKIDS and CalSavers to strengthen financial literacy, savings, and long-term financial security for families.
• Mobilize investors, philanthropists, and business leaders to identify practical ways to move more capital to women entrepreneurs and women-led investment funds.
• Direct state leaders to examine how existing financial systems and partnerships can expand access to capital and strengthen pathways to entrepreneurship and investment.
• Explore the feasibility of a California-anchored investment vehicle to attract philanthropic and private capital to support innovation, entrepreneurship, and long-term wealth-building in the state.

"Women are vital to every facet of our economy, and it is imperative that we invest in their full potential, as entrepreneurs, managers of capital, and economic decision-makers," said Katherine Rice, Co-Chair of the California Women's Wealth Advisory Council and Partner at GingerBread Capital. "We applaud Governor Newsom and the First Partner for championing this executive order, which creates a powerful framework for expanding visibility and unlocking new investment strategies that support women and families across California. This initiative positions California as a model for the nation in advancing a more equitable future where women fully participate as leaders in building stronger communities and a more resilient economy."

Expanding economic pathways for women

The United States is entering the largest intergenerational wealth transfer in modern history, with an estimated $84 trillion-$124 trillion expected to change hands over the next two decades. California is home to a dynamic venture ecosystem, and a global innovation economy, which will play a central role in how that capital moves.

Women continue to face barriers to wealth creation. They receive a fraction of venture funding, remain underrepresented in asset management, and hold a smaller share of total business and household wealth. By designing financial systems that are inclusive from the start, California aims to model a more resilient and equitable economy.

Building on California's leadership

In 2025, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom launched the California Women's Wealth Advisory Council to expand the Golden State's commitment to equity and access at every stage of economic life. Building on the First Partner's initiatives in pay equity and financial literacy, the Council expands that commitment toward broader inclusion and wealth creation for women across the state.

Since the launch of the California Equal Pay Pledge in 2019, hundreds of companies, organizations, and municipalities have signed on, committing to annual gender pay analyses, bias reduction in hiring, and equitable promotion practices. Building on that foundation, the First Partner released The Equal Pay Playbook, a data-driven guide that helps employers implement fair pay strategies that attract talent, enhance innovation, and strengthen performance.

To further financial security for Californians, in 2022, Governor Newsom launched the nation's largest college and career savings program for low-income students and newborn children. California Kids Investment and Development Savings Program (CalKIDS) invests up to $1,500 in college savings accounts for California kids, smoothing the gap between wealth inequality and the spiking cost of higher education. Also in 2022, Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill 1126, expanding the CalSavers Retirement Savings Program to an estimated 750,000 working Californians.