In the next five years, more than 4 out of 10 high school students in the U.S. will be enrolled in high schools where a personal finance course will be required before graduating.
Since 2013, there has been a significant increase in the number of states requiring students to take a personal finance course before graduation, according to a report from Champlain College.
“Once you graduate from high school, not a day will go by that you don’t think about money, how to make it, how to spend it, how to save it. You will be thinking about this until the day you die,” said John Pelletier, director of Champlain College’s Center for Financial Literacy.
The surge in personal finance courses is partly a response to the pandemic, which focused attention on difficult household finances and growing income inequality. Higher inflation and the resumption of student loan payments has also renewed worries about low financial literacy in the U.S.
In the next five years, more than 4 out of 10 high school students in the U.S. will be enrolled in high schools where a personal finance course will be required before graduating. By 2028, when new laws and policy changes are fully implemented, 23 states are projected to require high students to have taken a personal finance course before graduation.
Studies show personal finance education can make a significant difference in financial behaviors for many teenagers and adults. According to Carly Urban, a professor of economics at Montana State University who studies financial literacy, financial instruction can improve credit scores, lower loan delinquency rates, and reduce the use of risky services like payday lending.
“We are currently collecting signatures in support of financial education for all high schoolers,” said Tim Ranzetta, co-founder of Next Gen Personal Finance, a financial literacy advocacy organization. “We are far outpacing our estimates, demonstrating what we all inherently know: that personal finance is an impactful and easy-to-implement course with strong demand from both students, parents and the general public.”
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