School Money Rules

HS Financial Education Expands

By Joel Nelson on Sep 6, 2024 in News

The traditional core curriculum for K-12 education comprises “reading, writing and arithmetic,” with science, the arts and health also maintaining a presence.

Another concentration is joining this essential group: personal finances, a subject that encompasses such concepts as maintaining bank accounts, paying bills on time, creating a household budget, saving for retirement and understanding borrowing rates.

Twenty-six U.S. states require or will require high school financial education; personal finance education bills are pending in another 15 states. A new law in California, for example, requires a semester-long personal finance education course to be available for all high school students by the 2027-28 school year, with personal finance a graduation requirement starting with the 2030-31 graduating class.

Crucial skills to ‘play the money game’

 A growing understanding of the connection between teen comprehension and adult quality of life is driving the surge in early financial education.

“When you learn how money works at a young age, you’ll have the necessary skills to make positive financial decisions as an adult. When you’re financially literate, you’re better able to manage the ups and downs of life as they happen — your physical health, mental health and relationships will be better off as a result,” Joe Camberato, CEO and founder of small business loan provider National Business Capital, wrote in Forbes magazine in 2022.

Carly Urban, economics professor at Montana State University and a financial literacy expert, says that high school financial instruction has been shown to improve credit scores, lower loan delinquency rates and reduce the accumulation of credit card debt. It also helps position young people to make informed decisions about college loan types and repayment obligations while providing a head start on career opportunities, such as finance, accounting and investment, that require a strong understanding of personal finance.

With a solid foundation built in high school, Urban says, “credit scores get better, because people are less likely to be behind on an account. People are less likely to engage in alternative financial services, such as payday lending, which can really lead to poverty cycles.”  

Christopher Jackson, who teaches a personal finance course at a public charter school in El Segundo, Calif., requires his students to open Roth IRA accounts with a grant of $100. “I tell them this is going to be the most important class they are going to take in their life,” Jackson says. “You can’t play the money game if you don’t know the rules. I teach them the rules of the game.”

“Financial literacy affects every area of your life. Your finances have a ripple effect on every other area of your life — both for better and worse. The sooner kids understand these concepts, the better,” Camberato adds.