Cha-ching! Look out future freshmen, the state of Florida has approved to make financial literacy courses a graduation requirement for students entering high school in 2023-2024. 

    On March 22, Florida’s Governor Ron Desantis signed into law the Dorothy L. Hukill Financial Literacy Act, making Florida the largest state to make financial literacy a graduation requirement (CNBC). With the bill passing the state’s Congress unanimously with bipartisan support, this ensures vital financial literacy resources for students before graduation. According to Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, Jimmy Patrons, this course will introduce students to checkbook balancing, loan applications, insurance, federal income taxes, credit, budgeting, savings, and investing (CNBC/Washington Post).

    What makes this urgently important to incorporate into high school curriculums is the fact that “1 in 6 students don’t reach the baseline level of proficiency”  when it comes to their economic knowledge (Council for Education, Washington Post). As alarming as this sounds, young adults aren’t aware of budgeting and saving as  “1 in 4 millennials spend more than they earn” and another 2/3rds “have less than 3 months of emergency funds” (Washington Post). For these reasons, this course is sure to make a difference in the preparatory stages for post-graduation life. 

    What’s more is that this type of course is gaining traction, as over 54 financial education bills are pending in over 26 states (CNBC)! As other states begin to consider and implement more structured economic curriculums, Florida is on the right track, expanding students’ exposure to the real world, starting with what talks the most: money. 

   At Pembroke Pines Charter High School the change in requirements and the makeup of the course has turned the heads of many, especially when it comes to the ‘adulting’ aspect of economics. 

• “Right now, I can structure my curriculum but with this new state bill that got approved I am going to have to follow the curriculum that they have set. In general though it’s really the same thing, it’s just more a guideline – which can be a good thing in the long run. Personally though, I think it is important for students to learn life skills and financial literacy is one of them. To expand the preparation outside of high school I think we should maybe lighten the math requirements and then supplement it for possibly a tax course, this way students will be familiar enough with it not to be forced to pay a service. With the current economics makeup there is only but some much we can cover, so ideally if this financial literacy was expanded to a full year course it is surely to be more beneficial for students. While the aims of this course [are] to expand economic knowledge I think that even if this is made as a requirement the retention of the information is all up to the student. If the school were to [offer] courses like cooking or even property management it will all be up to the individual to take in what is being taught and then apply it. There is only so much a teacher can do, but with the help of parental guidance it will help students even further to understand that these skills are important to your success in adulthood. So, hopefully with this new life skills course it will bring to light more standards students can be familiar with before they graduate.”
  • Mr. Sanchez – Government/Economics Honors
• “I think this is definitely beneficial to students in the long run. Sure, people are probably going to complain because they think this is boring, but with America being pretty demanding in terms of money, we need all the help we can get. Learning taxes and finance management can help students make good choices when they have to start paying for their own things in college, which already costs an arm and a leg, and then some (not including student debt). While those who are in high school now have to learn most of these things themselves, this law makes that information more readily available for kids in the future. While taxes and finance in general are viewed as a boring adult thing, I know for sure my future self would really appreciate having this sort of information earlier rather than later.”
  • Gianpaolo Ciaffoni, junior
• “As a sophomore I am not too familiar with the current economics course, however I do think this would help more students down the road. With the expanded list of content this course would cover I think it would make a substantial impact on the student because it would uncover more adult-related topics that are oftentimes overlooked. If I was given the opportunity to take the class I would definitely enroll since it will at least expose me to the economic portion of my adulthood early on.”
• • Isabella Lasarte, sophomore

• “In considering the contents of this new financial literacy course I believe this will benefit many more Floridan students. While I will not be able to take advantage of the course since I shall be moving onto the college level I think it would be something I would have considered more closely for my electives. This will definitely help underclassmen immensely since they would be a step ahead of the college curve. With college preparation calling for student loans, etc. this class will allow for more students to understand the process more acutely.”
  • Zayna Diaz, senior