Starting with the class of 2027, public high school students in Connecticut must take a half-credit course in personal financial management and financial literacy to graduate.
The course requirement was signed into a law in June by Gov. Ned Lamont who stated it “will help give every student a better shot at financial success.”
The course aims to teach high school students the basics of how to handle their money and finances, and the impact of using credit and debit cards.
Joel Barlow High School Principal Mario Almeida is on board with the requirement as students head off to college.
“Too many of our kids don’t know the aspect of savings,” Almeida said. “If they don’t get it at home, they’re at least getting an introduction here.”
The state Board of Education provided curriculum and resources to local school boards to help districts implement financial literacy requirement, which can be offered through a variety of courses. Barlow’s administration asked the district to approve a Personal Finance and Economics course to meet the new state graduation requirement. Currently, the Introduction to Business course taught at Barlow is the only approved course that qualifies for a financial literacy credit.
The Introduction to Business course introduces banking and finance, the role of government in business, consumerism, credit, investment and management. The Personal Finance course focuses on how businesses raise, distribute and use financial resources while managing risk.
“We asked the board to approve the Personal Finance course which discusses a student’s own finances, and the Economics course which discusses global economics at the micro and macro level,” said Julie Dunbar McTague, Barlow’s STEM Department Chair.
According to Ramsey Solutions, 26 states require financial literacy for high school students to graduate. But how that requirement is met differs in each state. Some states require a stand-alone financial literacy course. Others implemented personal finance into another course.
Ari Alvarez and Julia Spinelli are seniors at Barlow. Even though they are not required to take a financial literacy in order to graduate, they said they have benefited from taking the Introductory Business course currently offered at the school.
Both were encouraged to do so by their guidance counselors because of their interest in business. Alvarez feels the Introductory Business course was helpful because he wants to go pursue business studies in college.
“In early adulthood, I feel like it is very important to understand financial literacy because this is when different credit card companies are just being thrown at you, and debt is a big problem in the country,” Alvarez said. “These things are very crucial to understand as an early adult.”
Spinelli encourages other Barlow students to take a financial literacy course even if they’re not interested in business.
“I think understanding business is a gateway to a lot of other careers and opportunities because once you understand the way a corporation works, you understand your role in that,” Spinelli said. “It is necessary to learn especially with an economy we have now as it is constantly growing.”
