Should Minnesota High School Students be Required to Take Personal Finance Courses?

(KDLM/MNC) – The tax filing deadline is today (April 18), prompting many to think more about their personal finances. Some policymakers, including Minnesota legislators, feel it should start at the high school level with required courses.

Four states have recently adopted laws making personal finance a graduation requirement. Seven other states already had such laws on the books.

The topic came up during a recent Minnesota House committee hearing. Rep. Hodan Hassan, DFL-Minneapolis, sponsor of a bill including a course requirement, argued the state needs to ensure high school graduates are ready for the real world.

“It’s imperative that our students learn basic personal finance skills,” Hassan urged. “It is one of the most important things that you can do to live a healthy, happy and secure life.”

The proposed requirement is getting some resistance from advocates for administrators, who worry about reducing time for elective courses. The Minnesota bill has bipartisan support, but timing may be an issue in the current session. There are also questions about implementation now, with many students still catching up on learning because of the pandemic.

Kimberley Lewis, associate director of government relations for the Minnesota School Boards Association, said financial literacy is important for teens and young adults, but contended certain elements already are included in current standards, and offerings such as Career and Technical Education courses can be just as helpful.

“The CTE classes give students an opportunity to understand where their careers might lead,” Lewis explained. “They can get certifications in many cases for good-paying jobs to help them not get into debt.”

She also noted giving local school boards the chance to implement standards to meet the needs of their students is better than a blanket requirement. Iowa is among the states with a financial literacy benchmark students must meet to graduate from high school.