Tim Ranzetta News Today

A ballot initiative that would require a personal finance class in high school circumvents the usual process for curriculum changes.

A ballot initiative that would require a personal finance class in high school circumvents the usual process for curriculum changes.

School curriculum is usually the purview of education experts, but this fall it could be decided by California voters, who will vote on adding a new requirement for high school

The latest education news updates from EdSource.

California voters will vote on a ballot initiative this fall to add a financial literacy requirement to the high school graduation requirements, with support from nearly 90% of adults and education experts questioning the idea of leaving curriculum decisions to voters.

Mandates from Sacramento have generally not proved to be the best way to improve education, unless they are undertaken with the involvement of the people who have to carry them out.

Clearly, young adults need to be better equipped to tangle with the modern world of money.

It makes sense to teach California high schoolers how to be savvy about the complex world of money. But lawmakers should be careful about mandating a course.

California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond hosted a Personal Finance Summit today where he announced his support for Assembly Bill 2927 (McCarty), legislation that would require a personal finance education course for California high school graduation.

Only 1% of California students are currently required to take a personal finance course.