Students advocate for more financial education in schools

Financial literacy can help alleviate many money problems, but only a handful of states require high school students to take a personal finance class to graduate. CNBC's Sharon Epperson explores the state of financial literacy in schools and how students are advocating for more education. For access to live and exclusive video from CNBC subscribe to CNBC PRO: https://cnb.cx/2NGeIvi

As financial literacy advocates push for more personal finance education in schools, students are also joining the cause.

Only 21 states require personal finance coursework to graduate high school, with just a handful mandating a stand-alone class, according to the Council for Economic Education. Yet research shows that those who have some financial education typically have lower credit card balances, higher credit scores and take out smaller private loans for college.

“The economy has been fluctuating up and down,” said 15-year-old Zoe McCall. “We need to know these things.”

The high school sophomore lives in Maryland, one of the states that does not require the coursework for high school graduates. While McCall has regular conversations about money at home with her parents, not all of her classmates are as fortunate, she said.

So McCall, along with some of her peers, testified about the importance of a financial education before the Prince George’s County Board of Education in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, last March. The board passed a resolution requiring a personal finance course for all high school students in the region.

“I’m going to witness the change I made, and it’s just very, very exciting” said McCall, who is a self-described activist and entrepreneur with multiple side-businesses, including mask making and babysitting.

The state of Maryland may not be further behind the Prince George’s County School District. It is one of 25 states and the District of Columbia that have introduced bills in their 2021 legislative sessions to increase access to financial education, according to Next Gen Personal Finance, a non-profit group that creates free courses and funds training for high school teachers.

The bills range from forming task forces and commissions to developing standards for what should be taught and ensuring that every high school student takes a course.

“This is a movement,” Next Gen Personal Finance CEO and co-founder Tim Ranzetta said. “This is something [students and teachers] want.”

The financial uncertainty brought on by the pandemic helped mobilize the new wave of people joining the fight.

“Anytime there’s economic stress, there’s a renewed focus on how do we increase financial capability, and financial education is one component of that,” he added.

Advocates are not just focusing on high-school students.

In West Orange, New Jersey, 14-year-old Olivia Raymond took her first personal finance course in middle school last year. She and her classmates learned the fundamentals of money management, such as saving, investing, budgeting and donating.

A year later, she is still using those important money lessons.

“Those are skills that can be applied when I go for a job, when I apply to colleges,” Raymond said.

Kids even as young as 8 and 9 years old are being exposed to age-appropriate financial lessons. One online learning resource, SmartPath, focuses on children as young as kindergarteners by using music videos and interactive games to educate about financial topics.

» Subscribe to CNBC TV: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCtelevision
» Subscribe to CNBC: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBC
» Subscribe to CNBC Classic: https://cnb.cx/SubscribeCNBCclassic

Turn to CNBC TV for the latest stock market news and analysis. From market futures to live price updates CNBC is the leader in business news worldwide.

The News with Shepard Smith is CNBC’s daily news podcast providing deep, non-partisan coverage and perspective on the day’s most important stories. Available to listen by 8:30pm ET / 5:30pm PT daily beginning September 30: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/09/2....9/the-news-with-shep

Connect with CNBC News Online
Get the latest news: http://www.cnbc.com/
Follow CNBC on LinkedIn: https://cnb.cx/LinkedInCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Facebook: https://cnb.cx/LikeCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Twitter: https://cnb.cx/FollowCNBC
Follow CNBC News on Instagram: https://cnb.cx/InstagramCNBC

https://www.cnbc.com/select/best-credit-cards/

#CNBC
#CNBCTV