Tuesday, January 2, 2024
Wisconsin Act 60 was signed into law on December 6, 2023, requiring all students graduate with a half-credit of personal financial literacy starting with the Class of 2028. New PFL standards were introduced in 2020; however, with the passage of Act 60, the DPI is reintroducing them.
Personal Financial Literacy (PFL) education impacts every student in Wisconsin and can set them up for financial success in their future. PFL education is an opportunity to provide consistent access to instruction around financial management, responsible lending, and other economic strategies that will help manage money.
For many students, this may be the only financial course they experience in school. Having this requirement may provide a baseline of money management skills for all students in Wisconsin, which is currently only experienced by many students by choice at this time. As it turns out, financial literacy is personal. Knowing, or even just hearing about or being exposed to financial topics can help to create and strengthen healthy financial patterns as well as break financial patterns that can impact families for generations.
Great opportunities
We are excited about assisting our educators in teaching this information to our students while listening to their stories about financial literacy. The resources available to educators are vast, which makes it a little difficult to navigate, so helping teachers share quality instructional resources with students is something that we will focus on.
We want students to explore the financial mindset portion of Wisconsin’s Academic Standards for Personal Financial Literacy, which Wisconsin led the way in writing and adopting. A growing amount of experts are saying how important the psychology of money and financial socialization is to helping young people understand why they make the financial decisions they do. Reiterating again the financial literacy is personal and happens in social constructs. Students are learning most from family and friends. As educators, we want to continue to increase that circle of trust and share essential knowledge and healthy practices related to financial literacy.
How can classroom teachers infuse personal financial literacy in their classes?
As a part of financial socialization, teachers at all levels can talk about money AND also listen when students ask questions or share their own stories. Students learn most from those they trust. Examples might include how you saved for a large item or trip, how you managed your money when you started getting your first paychecks from your part time job, your student loan journey, leasing or buying a car, what it’s like renting an apartment or buying a home, credit-card hacks or cautionary tales. These lived experiences help students know that you don’t have to be perfect with money to set yourself up for the life you desire financially.
What can districts do to prepare?
A first step for districts will be to determine if their current offerings will meet the requirements of the law. Many school districts offer a personal financial literacy course of some sort. The key will be to identify curricular gaps in order to meet the legal requirements.
Adopting the Wisconsin Standards for Personal Financial Literacy will also be a step that districts should investigate as they include all six strands that are required in the law.
Determining who will teach the course is another issue. There is no teaching license in financial literacy. It can be taught by a business teacher, economics teacher, social studies teacher, or family and consumer sciences teacher. That is one of the challenges we will address here at the DPI.
There will be plenty of other challenges along the way, but these will be some initial steps districts can take to reach the Class of 2028 deadline for implementation.
Resources galore
The amount of resources available is vast. Teachers will need to spend time investigating which ones best meet the needs of their students. One comprehensive tool that the DPI has made available to schools at no cost is the Money Path app by Secure Futures. It allows students to make personalized, informed decisions for life after high school. Whether they need help making smart decisions about student loans, creating a real-life monthly budget based on their career, or planning for long-term financial goals, Money Path helps students see and realistically plan for their futures.
The DPI also has Resource pages on our Personal Financial Literacy website and a WISELearn group specifically for PFL with some lessons that have already been vetted for high quality. We will be curating additional lessons in spring 2024 and will send notification out when those resources become available.
In addition to resources, guest speakers offer another way to get students of all ages to talk about finances. These could be guests from a local financial institution, an insurance agency, investment broker firm, or even a financial coach or planner to share what students at every age can do to understand money and how it can help them build their life goals. In the coming months, the DPI will be collaborating with state-level partners to put together frequently asked questions and some just-in-time technical assistance for school districts. Watch for updates to the DPI PFL web pages!
Timeline
Standards implementation efforts will start up in the new year alongside collaborative efforts with state-level partners including the Governor’s Council for Financial Literacy and Capability. The DPI will be working on more guidance for districts, and we appreciate your feedback to help develop these resources. Your questions will help us focus on what is important to you!
For further reading
- Equity in Teaching Personal Financial Literacy April 2023
- Off to a Strong Start in Financial Literacy May 2022
- Making an Impact Every Day April 2020 (The teacher who is spotlighted in the story was on the PFL standards committee.)
Special thanks to all those who contributed to this article
Sara Baird-- Assistant Director - Career and Technical Education (CTE) • Career and Technical Education
Jennifer Jackson-- Consultant - Business Information Technology Education • Career and Technical Education
Sara Knueve-- Policy Initiatives Advisor in the Division for Academic Excellence
Kristen McDaniel-- Social Studies Consultant
Laura Roeker-- Director of Teaching and Learning
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