Financial literacy now required for high schoolers
FLDOE is finalizing standards and curriculum for a new financial literacy class
In March 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill to require high school students to take a financial literacy class prior to graduation. Thanks to Senate Bill 1054, titled the Dorothy L. Hukill Financial Literacy Act, students will learn how to make smart decisions with their money prior to taking the giant leap into adulthood. This new requirement applies to students entering high school in the 2023-2024 school year.
“The Dorothy L. Hukill Financial Literacy Act will help prepare students for the future by providing them with the knowledge to achieve financial stability and independence,” Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) Press Secretary Cassandra Palelis said. “In addition, the standards will ensure students have the tools to make educated financial decisions and empower them to thrive in our economy, no matter what path they choose after high school.”
Sen. Dorothy Hukill, who died in 2018, and for whom the legislation is named, had a career-long dedication to expanding opportunities for students to learn about financial literacy in high school. She was a former classroom teacher and understood firsthand just how important these skills are to successful employment and economic independence in adulthood.
In 2019, DeSantis signed legislation that required schools to offer the course as an elective, but many in the community continued to push for a more aggressive approach. The Rotary Club of Jacksonville was one such group. They pushed for legislation to be written to require the financial literary course to graduate, rather than having it be just an elective students could choose or not.
“When they turn 18 and are legally adults, they’re empowered to sign legal contracts — student loans, credit card agreements — and that affects their financial wellbeing for forever,” The Rotary Club of Jacksonville President Jim Agee said. “It’ll give them some tools. If the parents get involved, it might teach the parents something too, but it requires a big investment by the parents to teach their kids financial responsibility, cash flow and building net worth.”
Agee said it goes beyond just one semester of learning about financial responsibility. It is about building intergenerational wealth. “How are you going to break this cycle of poverty and underdevelopment, both in education and social skills? You’re not going to break that cycle until you can get a generation educated on this,” Agee added.
And today, living in such a digital age with everything at one’s fingertips, it can be easy to make quick decisions that might not be the best financial one. Don’t want to drive to the gas station for a soda? Just order one through one of the many food delivery services — for a significant upcharge. Scroll through TikTok and there’s an ad to buy something instantly. There is such an ease in getting something nowadays without truly knowing how much it should cost.
Erin Conklin, Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) Director of K-12 Social Studies, said these types of things will be incorporated into the curriculum. “Teachers will have resources that teach students about digital spending and other digital components,” she said.
The course curriculum must touch on several other aspects as well, including:
- Types of bank accounts;
- Opening and managing a bank account;
- Assessing the quality of a depository institution’s services;
- Balancing a checkbook;
- Basic principles of money management;
- Loan applications;
- Receiving an inheritance;
- Basic principles of personal insurance policies;
- Federal income taxes and local tax assessments;
- Interest rates;
- Contracts;
- Billing statements;
- Savings and investments; and
- Laws concerning finance.
The FLDOE released proposed standards for the course on April 6 for public review. FLDOE convened a workgroup to review the previous financial literacy courses, as well as propose new financial literacy standards and courses that align with the financial principles defined in SB 1054. The State Board of Education (SBOE) was anticipated to take action on these standards at their meeting on May 24.
Financial literacy courses aligned with the new standards are currently in development and are expected to go before the SBOE in July. Once SBOE gives its approval, the courses will be available for the beginning of the 2023-2024 school year. Workgroups will develop resources for financial literacy immediately following the adoption of the new courses, according to Palelis.
Conklin has been working with those at the FLDOE to be ready for implementation in the upcoming school year. Once it is approved by SBOE and DCPS has a course code from FLDOE, it will be added to the pupil progression plan and the Duval County School Board agenda. The board will then have to approve the course and standards prior to its implementation, which, she indicated, could be as late as August or September.
The new course will also require professional development for teachers. The school district will need to adopt materials and textbooks, and plans to include parents in this process.
Conklin said the district has many community partners that work with them to provide resources and support for teachers and students. And some offer support and programs specifically targeted to financial literacy. One of these such groups is Junior Achievement of North Florida (JA), which employs a pathways approach to teaching financial literacy to young people.
Shannon Italia, president of leadership for JA, said this bill “elevates the priority and provides a framework to ensure that all young people in Florida will be exposed to this critical information. Even if people have limited means, a better understanding of how money works and how one can use budgeting, cost management and credit as a tool can help lead to better financial outcomes, which can contribute to a greater quality of life and financial wellness.”
Another partner in the community is VyStar Credit Union, which started the VyStar Academy of Business High School Branch Program about 15 years ago. High school students receive real, hands-on experience by operating a fully functional VyStar branch in the school, which is open to students and faculty only.
“Instead of doing a classroom presentation or offering job shadowing, which are still very beneficial, we decided to build a fully functional VyStar credit union on campus that was exclusively operated by the students as part of their business program,” VyStar Vice President of School Programs Michael Rathjen said.
Vystar just opened its 18th high school branch and now operates in eight school districts. In Duval County, there are branches at Samuel Wolfson, Ribault, First Coast, Mandarin and Fletcher high schools. Vystar offers 12 yearlong paid internships to students at each branch.
“As we’ve been able to partner with schools over the years, we realized how valuable this opportunity is to students, regardless of their career aspirations,” Rathjen said. “They learn how to work with two key elements. They learn how to work with money, and they learn all types of financial literacy concepts, and they learn how to work with people.”
“When it comes to learning how to handle money, it’s not a matter of if we need to learn those skills, is just a matter of when,” Rathjen said. “So, we can do one of two things. We can either take the time to prepare for our future or we will take the time to repair from our past.”
By Jennifer Jensen
Resident Community News
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