Establishing Ownership Literacy as a National Education Priority

EXECUTIVE ORDER

ESTABLISHING OWNERSHIP LITERACY AS A NATIONAL EDUCATION PRIORITY

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including Department of Education Organization Act (20 U.S.C. 3401 et seq.) and the General Education Provisions Act (20 U.S.C. 1221 et seq.), and section 301 of title 3, United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows:

Preamble.
We live in a time when the structures that govern our lives are often invisible—owned by people who never see us, managed by entities that exist only on paper, designed to extract rather than to serve. Too many of our fellow citizens spend their lives working, saving, and struggling, never realizing that the very systems they depend on were built by those who once owned human beings and simply changed the form of their ownership.

Our children inherit this world without being taught how it works. They learn to be workers, borrowers, and taxpayers, but not owners. They are given checkbooks but not the knowledge to read a financial statement. They are told to save for retirement but not shown how their own savings are used to raise their rents and their utility bills. They grow up inside a system that treats them as inputs to be managed, not as whole humans deserving of freedom.

This must end.

What we build now will help our students become the first generation to see clearly—to recognize the chains that bind them, to understand the architecture of extraction, and to choose for themselves whether to navigate, reform, or build anew. This Executive Order is a commitment to that freedom. It is a declaration that the children of this nation will no longer be kept in the dark about the systems that own them. They will learn the truth. They will learn the tools. And they will be free from the entanglements of those who cannot see them as whole persons.

Section 1. Purpose.
The history of the United States includes the original sin of chattel slavery, a system of human ownership that was dismantled only after a bloody civil war. Yet the economic and legal structures that empowered slaveholders did not vanish with emancipation. Instead, they evolved into modern systems of corporate ownership, shareholder primacy, and regulated monopolies that continue to concentrate wealth and control while leaving most Americans without the knowledge or tools to participate in ownership.

For generations, our education system has taught students to be diligent workers, responsible borrowers, and compliant taxpayers, but has failed to teach them how to understand, critique, or engage with the ownership structures that govern their lives. This systemic gap in education perpetuates economic dependency, stifles upward mobility, and undermines democratic accountability.

It is the policy of my Administration to ensure that every student in America graduates with a fundamental understanding of ownership—its history, its mechanics, and the alternatives available—so that they may navigate, challenge, or build upon the economic systems that shape their future.

Section 2. Definitions.
For purposes of this order:
(a) “Ownership literacy” means competency in the following areas:
(i) The history of chattel slavery in the United States, including its economic foundations, the legal doctrines that supported it, and the post Civil War transition to systems such as sharecropping, convict leasing, and the development of corporate and shareholder law;
(ii) The structure of modern corporate ownership, including limited liability, shell companies, corporate personhood, the legal principle of shareholder primacy, and the role of boards of directors and who hires them;
(iii) The operation of regulated monopolies, with particular emphasis on investor owned utilities, the cost plus rate model, rate base, and the relationship between capital investment, customer rates, the ability to manipulate populations to believe a monopoly is not a monopoly, why we have “private owners” running public entities, public equity firms vs private equity firms and shareholder returns;
(iv) Basic financial statement analysis, including the ability to read an annual report (Form 10 K) and identify revenue, operating expenses, net profit, executive compensation, and dividend distributions;
(v) Practical investment mechanics, including the purpose and operation of custodial brokerage accounts, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, and retirement vehicles such as 401(k) plans, with an emphasis on understanding how investment capital flows to and from the institutions that affect students’ daily lives;
(vi) Alternative ownership models, including consumer cooperatives, worker cooperatives, municipal and public utilities, public equity vs private equity, purpose-driven companies, community land trusts, and other structures that prioritize service over extraction.
(b) “Secondary education” means grades 6 through 12, including middle school and high school.
(c) “Eligible entity” means a State educational agency, local educational agency, tribal educational agency, or nonprofit organization with demonstrated expertise in financial or economic education.

Section 3. Ownership Literacy Grant Program.
(a) The Secretary of Education shall establish and administer a competitive grant program, to be known as the “Ownership Literacy Grant Program,” to support the development, implementation, and scaling of ownership literacy curricula in secondary education.
(b) Grants shall be awarded to eligible entities for activities including but not limited to:
(i) Curriculum development and the creation of open educational resources that align with the definition of ownership literacy in Section 2(a);
(ii) Professional development and training for teachers, administrators, and school counselors;
(iii) Acquisition of technology platforms, including simulated investment tools, that allow students to practice investing and analyze corporate financial data without risking real capital;
(iv) Development of capstone projects, assessments, and graduation portfolio systems to measure student competency;
(v) Partnerships with public utilities, cooperatives, labor unions, credit unions, community development financial institutions, and other organizations that can provide real world learning experiences;
(vi) Outreach and technical assistance to schools serving low income communities, rural areas, and Tribal communities, which have historically been excluded from financial and ownership education.
(c) In awarding grants, the Secretary shall give priority to applicants that demonstrate:
(i) A commitment to integrating ownership literacy across multiple grade levels, beginning no later than middle school;
(ii) A plan to involve students from historically underserved communities;
(iii) Partnerships with community based organizations that reflect the diversity of the student population.
(d) The Secretary shall reserve not less than 10 percent of grant funds for Tribal educational agencies and schools operated by the Bureau of Indian Education.

Section 4. Graduation Requirement.
(a) The Secretary of Education shall, in consultation with State educational agencies, develop model standards for ownership literacy that States may adopt as a graduation requirement.
(b) It is the goal of the Administration that by the 2030–2031 school year, every State receiving Federal education funding shall require that students demonstrate competency in ownership literacy, as defined in Section 2(a), prior to receiving a high school diploma. Competency may be demonstrated through a capstone project, portfolio, examination, or other assessment approved by the State.
(c) The Secretary shall provide technical assistance and incentive funding to States that adopt such a requirement, including through the grant program established in Section 3 and through other existing authorities.

Section 5. Research, Data Collection, and Reporting.
(a) The Secretary shall, through the Institute of Education Sciences, conduct or commission research on the effectiveness of ownership literacy curricula, including longitudinal studies on student financial outcomes, civic engagement, and wealth accumulation.
(b) Not later than one year after the date of this order, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the President and to the Congress a report that includes:
(i) The number of grants awarded, the entities receiving grants, and the geographic distribution of grant funds;
(ii) The number of States and school districts that have adopted ownership literacy graduation requirements;
(iii) Student competency rates, disaggregated by race, ethnicity, income, and geographic location;
(iv) Recommendations for expanding ownership literacy programs and removing barriers to implementation.

Section 6. Coordination and Interagency Support.
(a) The Secretary of Education shall coordinate with the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of Labor, the Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Chair of the Federal Trade Commission to provide expertise and resources to support ownership literacy education.
(b) The Secretary of Education and the Secretary of the Treasury shall jointly establish a task force on “Youth Investment Education” to examine and recommend best practices for teaching students about custodial accounts, long term investing, and the ethical considerations of ownership.

Section 7. General Provisions.
(a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to mandate that any student or school engage in actual financial investment or to require the use of any specific commercial financial product.
(b) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair the authority of States, localities, or Tribal governments to determine the specific content of their curricula, consistent with the goals and definitions set forth in this order.
(c) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(d) The Secretary of Education is authorized to issue such rules, regulations, and guidance as may be necessary to carry out this order.

Section 8. Effective Date.
This order is effective immediately from date below.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 20th day of January 2029.

Signed,
Vincent Cordova
President of the United States, 2028