PALO ALTO, Calif., March 22, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Florida high school students will now be guaranteed to complete a personal finance course prior to crossing that graduation stage as The Dorothy Hukill Financial Literacy Act was signed into law today by Governor Ron DeSantis. Starting with students entering grade 9 in the 2023-2024 school year, all Florida high schoolers will complete a one semester course that teaches them how to manage a bank account, file a tax return and to build long-term wealth through investing. Florida now becomes the 11th and largest state to guarantee a personal finance course to all high school students.
“In all my meetings with lawmakers this session,” said Yanely Espinal, Next Gen Personal Finance’s Director of Partnerships, “Senator Hukill’s legacy always came up. She wanted students to learn financial skills in school before they got into the school of hard knocks, and this bill was the best chance for all students to do so.” During the last 6 months, Espinal’s advocacy included meetings with the bill sponsors, Representative Demi Busatta Cabrera and Senator Travis Hutson, as well as dozens of other legislators, educators, district superintendents and additional stakeholders.
The idea that all Florida high schoolers should have a comprehensive personal finance education garnered bipartisan support with unanimous votes in the Florida House and Senate. The popularity of this bill was also evidenced by recent polling conducted by Public Policy Polling in early March. Their poll found that 85% of Florida voters agreed that high school students should be guaranteed a course in personal finance.
The bill’s signing is another indication of the strong momentum towards increased access to financial education. Since 2018, the number of states guaranteeing all students take a standalone personal finance course has more than doubled from five to eleven. Already in 2022, 26 state legislatures have introduced fifty-six bills to expand access to financial education (Source: NGPF FinEd BillTracker).
“With the amount of credit card debt and student loans the average American now holds, it’s no wonder students, parents, teachers, and other stakeholders are calling for this course,” said Yanely Espinal. “We all wish we learned about important financial decisions before we had to make them, not after.”
Next Gen Personal Finance has committed to supporting the implementation of this state-wide financial education program through:
“Today marks a watershed moment in the financial education movement. With one stroke of a pen, all Florida high schoolers (5% of total …….
