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Financial literacy may soon be a requirement for high school graduation in California
SACRAMENTO — California high school students may need to add another class to graduate if lawmakers certify a proposal that would add financial literacy to the list of graduation requirements.
However, some schools in the Sacramento area are already offering these types of courses. Mesa Verde High School in Citrus Heights is one such school, and they have seen some great results.
When she started high school, the last thing Adelisa Dubravac thought about was financial management.
So it’s funny that we found her working at the Safe Credit Union branch inside Mesa Verde. That’s where students learn the ins and outs of banking.
“Learning how to do the math, or learning how much money to spend, managing it,” Dubravac said. “I wish I had learned that when I was a little younger.”
It’s a partnership between Safe Credit Union and the San Juan Unified School District, and it’s just one of the tools the district has to teach students about personal finance.
“It’s not just book learning. It’s practical partnerships,” said Spencer Murrish.
Murrish is a professor at Mesa Verde’s business academy, one of the school’s career technical education programs.
“It’s essential to have programs like this to not only help them learn the broader concepts of how to run a business, but also to start with management and personal finance, personal finance and responsibility to become a responsible member of society,” Murrish said.
All of this is an example of what California schools could look like if lawmakers signed into law a proposal that would add financial literacy to the list of graduation requirements. Murrish said real-world experiences really resonate with students.
“You could be driving along and your car breaks down. It’s only $300 for someone to look at it, and they’re like, ‘There’s no way it’s that much,'” he said. “And we wrote a budget of, if you’re making $17 an hour in high school, how much room do you have with the average rent and things like that?”
How to open a checking account, manage money, compound interest – these are practices that can make a big difference in someone’s life. But it’s not all about money.
“A big part of business is being an ethical human being,” Murrish said. “Running an ethical company, trying your best to do your best.”
It seems to be catching on. Students like Dubravac are making those small decisions that can set them up for a lifetime of success.
“I learned not to spend a lot of money, [and] really think, ‘Do I need this or not?'” she said.
If financial literacy becomes part of California’s graduation requirements, the class of 2030 will be the first group of students to require such training.