Every Girl Deserves to Build Financial Wellness

Illinois just took a historic step: beginning with students entering 9th grade in 2028–29, every public high school student must complete a standalone personal finance course to graduate. Girl Gonna Launch applauds this mandate, and we're asking lawmakers to finish the job.

The problem? The new requirement doesn't reach students until 11th or 12th grade. What about Middle School? The 5–8 financial literacy standards already on Illinois' books are inconsistently taught, unfunded, and unmeasured. Independent evaluations have flagged Illinois' financial education policy for serious gaps in rigor, funding, and teacher readiness.

And this gap hits girls hardest. Girl Gonna Launch's original survey research found that parents talk to daughters about money differently — and less — than they talk to sons. When families teach girls less about money at home and schools don't fill the gap until the end of their high school career, we graduate young women who are years behind in financial confidence — and it shows up later in personal financial wellness and entrepreneurship confidence.

Middle school is when money attitudes solidify and when confidence gaps between girls and boys widen. It's exactly when financial education matters most, and exactly where Illinois' system is weakest.

Tell your Illinois state legislators to:

1.   Fund Middle School financial literacy implementation — dedicated grants and teacher professional development so the existing standards are actually taught, especially in middle school.

2.   Build the on-ramp to the new graduation requirement — students entering the mandated high school course in 2028 should arrive prepared, not starting from zero.

3.   Require gender-disaggregated data in ISBE's implementation reporting, so we can see and close the investing gap for girls.

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