Most students entering high school next year required to take financial literacy course

MIAMI VALLEY — Students at public schools in Ohio entering 9th grade next school year will be required to take a financial literacy course to graduate high school.

The course will be able to be taken as an elective course or can substitute for a half-unit of math, according to the new law.

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“Ohioans must be prepared to apply increased knowledge and skills in the workplace and to adapt their knowledge and skills quickly to meet the rapidly changing conditions of the twenty-first century,” the law reads. “The goal of Ohio’s system of elementary and secondary education is to prepare all students for and seamlessly connect all students to success in life beyond high school graduation, regardless of whether the next step is entering the workforce, beginning an apprenticeship, engaging in post-secondary training, serving in the military, or pursuing a college degree.”

The new law, which went into effect Oct. 28, will exempt students from the requirement if they attend chartered nonpublic schools without a state scholarship.

The new requirement will be in place for students entering the 9th grade on or after July 1, 2022.

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In addition to the requirement for students, districts also will have to make sure the teachers instructing the class have an educator license validation in financial literacy to be able to teach the subject beginning with the 2024-2025 school year.

Across the United States at least 21 states now require high school students to take a course in personal finance, according to the most recent survey on the topic by Council for Economic Education.

“Research indicates that in states that have requirements, students exhibit more informed behavior around college financing, in particular those from lower-income families,” the Council for Economic Education said. “In states without requirements, there is a 15-point gap in access to financial education between kids from lower-income versus wealthier families.”

The 2020 study by the Council for Economic Education highlighted a new full-year course in economics and personal finance for students in North Carolina. For that course, “students have access to high-quality instruction on the true cost of credit, borrowing, credit scores and reports, and planning and paying for post-secondary education.”

North Carolina’s course is already a requirement for high school students in that state.

The Council for Economic Education is a non-profit organization that focuses on equipping K-12 students with the tools and knowledge of personal finance and economics so that they can make better decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities, according to its website.

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