Personal finance education has become a popular cause. In a 2022 poll conducted by the National Endowment for Financial Education, 88 percent of U.S. adults agreed that their state should require a personal finance course for high school graduation. Eight in ten respondents said they wish they had been required to take at least one semester of personal finance to graduate from high school. 

CEE’s biennial Survey of the States is an important benchmark for progress in K-12 economic and financial education, revealing both how far we’ve come as a country and how far we still have to go. There has been notable progress since the first survey was published in 1998 with 2023 proving to be a banner year. These survey findings reflect this positive shift, and account for both currently enacted requirements and recently signed legislation scheduled to take effect soon. Legislation requiring that all students take a stand-alone course in personal finance to graduate from high school swept the nation since the 2022 Survey of the States. In the past two years, 12 states have passed such legislation—9 of those were passed in 2023 alone. The new regulations in these 12 states will lead to over 10 million additional K-12 students—21 percent of current students—gaining guaranteed access to this knowledge. Research clearly shows the positive impact that at least a semester can have on young people’s financial decisions in early adulthood. 

A critical lesson CEE has learned from our advocacy work through FinEd50, the advocacy coalition founded by CEE and Visa, is the importance of bringing diverse communities to the table in pushing for change. For example, the Pennsylvania State Education Association supported efforts to pass a new graduation requirement after ensuring that it contained key protections for teachers’ time and professional development. Teachers’ unions, often opposed to new requirements, have begun to acknowledge the importance and inevitability of personal finance requirements, as reflected by the Pennsylvania example, among others. Indicating the growing community of supporters, FinEd50 now boasts 10 members—representing diverse corporate, nonprofit, and research organizations. With calls from teachers, business leaders, community leaders, and students for all students to have this access, legislators and other state leaders have stepped up to the plate in unprecedented ways. 

Nan J. Morrison, CEE President and CEO, remarked “requiring all high schools to teach principles of personal finance and economics to all students creates equity and the possibility of a brighter future for youth nationwide. Of course, requirements are only as good as their implementation – and CEE provides K-12 teachers with free, high-quality training and resources to help with that too. Let’s use financial literacy month as a time to take the next steps!” 

Check out our ideas on how you can celebrate this month, whether you’re a teacher, a student, or just want to get financially savvy! 

CEE’s Financial Literacy Month is generously supported by Intuit for Education. 

About the Council for Economic Education

The Council for Economic Education’s (CEE’s) mission is to equip K–12 students with the tools and knowledge of personal finance and economics so that they can make better decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities, and learn to successfully navigate in our ever-changing economy. We carry out our mission in three ways.  We advocate to require financial and economic education in every state. We provide training, tools and resources – online and live through over 180 affiliates nationwide – to more than 40,000 teachers annually who in turn bring the highest quality economics and personal finance instruction to over 4 million students. We deepen knowledge and introduce high school students to critical career capabilities through our national competitions and Invest in Girls program.

Media contact: 

CEE: press@councilforeconed.org 

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Students are asked to answer “What economic advice would you give to your mayor?” Winners will receive cash prizes and be featured on our website and in social media. 

In 2022, our Econ Ed Month student video contest received over 700 entries. We’re so excited to see the advice students have to offer this year! Our economist judges will choose one winner in each of the following grade bands: K-4; 5-8; 9-12.  

This year, we are honored to have the following notable economists selecting the Economists’ Choice Winners: 

Raphael W. Bostic, President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta 

Falk Bräuning, Senior Economist and Policy Advisor, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston  

William C. Dudley, Ph.D, CEE Board Member and Senior Research Scholar, Princeton University 

Benjamin M. Friedman, Ph.D, CEE Board Member and William Joseph Maier Professor of Political Economy, Dept. of Economics, Harvard University 

Emily Kolinski Morris, Ph.D, CEE Board Member and Chief Economist, Ford Motor Company

Michelle Meyer, Chief Economist, U.S., Mastercard Economics Institute 

John J. Siegfried, Ph.D, CEE Board Member and Professor Emeritus, Vanderbilt University 

Thank you to these accomplished economists for dedicating their time to engaging with some potential economists-to-be! 

If you know a K-12 student who wants to show off their economic knowledge and win cash prizes, encourage them to enter! 

All entries are due: October 18, 2023, 11:59 PM ET. 

Happy #EconEdMonth!! 

About the Council for Economic Education

The Council for Economic Education’s (CEE’s) mission is to equip K–12 students with the tools and knowledge of personal finance and economics so that they can make better decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities, and learn to successfully navigate in our ever-changing economy. We carry out our mission in three ways.  We advocate to require financial and economic education in every state. We provide training, tools and resources – online and live through over 180 affiliates nationwide – to more than 40,000 teachers annually who in turn bring the highest quality economics and personal finance instruction to over 4 million students. We deepen knowledge and introduce high school students to critical career capabilities through our national competitions and Invest in Girls program.

Media contact: 

CEE: press@councilforeconed.org 

The post Student Video Contest for #EconEdMonth appeared first on Council for Economic Education.

Econ Ed Month activities, contests and advocacy toolkits from CEE and our nationwide affiliated network will help students, teachers and parents encourage legislators, school boards, districts and other stakeholders to provide full access to the economic lessons all young people need to make informed choices throughout their lives. 

Only half the states currently mandate economics classes for graduation, according to CEE’s biennial Survey of the States. For many, economic education is available only to those who advance to college and elect to study it there. Econ Ed Month honors the knowledge that economic thinking is a core skill necessary for everyone to understand the world and make better personal, family, and civic decisions. This special month is a focus of CEE’s mission to ensure life-shaping economic information is accessible to all youth including students of color and young people in less advantaged school districts. 

“Economics plays a critical role in creating informed citizens, and the lack of progress in ensuring our young people have the opportunity to study economics puts the students and our nation at a disadvantage for years to come,” said Nan J. Morrison, CEE President and CEO. “We’ve developed tools and events for Econ Ed Month in response to requests from students, families and educators who are urgently calling for economics curriculum to be equally available to all.” 

Working with state affiliates in Georgia, Nebraska and Oklahoma, CEE launched the first Economic Education Month in 2021. This October features economics-focused classroom resources, professional development for teachers and a nationwide student video contest, encouraging young people to think about the connection between economics and their community by answering, “What economic advice would you give to your mayor?” CEE and its affiliates are issuing calls for video contest submissions to teachers across the USA; winners will receive cash prizes. 

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is also sponsoring a series of Economic Education Month events including programs for teachers, undergraduate researchers, and students interested in exploring the diversity of careers in economics. 

“Whether your passion is protecting the environment, reducing food insecurity, making college affordable or even managing the federal debt,” Morrison added, “seeing your challenge through an economic lens will help you understand the issue and identify potential solutions.” 

EconEdMonth.org, is the central resource for the public to learn more about Economic Education Month activities also offers direct access to classroom resources and student learning activities designed to make learning economics easy and fun. We will have daily #econedmonth content on Twitter (X) and Instagram too! Engage with @EconEdMonth and @CouncilforEconEd, repost our daily econ vocab and cool econ job features on your channels. Spreading the word about economics will encourage others to join the cause. 

Happy Economic Education Month!

About the Council for Economic Education

The Council for Economic Education’s (CEE’s) mission is to equip K–12 students with the tools and knowledge of personal finance and economics so that they can make better decisions for themselves, their families, and their communities, and learn to successfully navigate in our ever-changing economy. We carry out our mission in three ways.  We advocate to require financial and economic education in every state. We provide training, tools and resources – online and live through over 180 affiliates nationwide – to more than 40,000 teachers annually who in turn bring the highest quality economics and personal finance instruction to over 4 million students. We deepen knowledge and introduce high school students to critical career capabilities through our national competitions and Invest in Girls program.

Media contact: 

CEE: press@councilforeconed.org 

The post October is Economic Education Month appeared first on Council for Economic Education.

“The state of financial education offered to students in the U.S. varies significantly. Where students live should not impact whether they have access to knowledge that will help them learn how to make informed financial decisions in their lives,” said Worku Gachou, head of North America, inclusive impact & sustainability, at Visa. “Visa is proud to be a cofounding partner of FinEd50 and we welcome all who are passionate about ensuring young people have access to financial education to join us.” 

According to CEE’s 2022 Survey of the States, only 27 states require schools to offer a personal finance course and the quality of courses varies wildly. While there has been some progress over the last decade, many young people in financially disadvantaged communities remain without access to a personal finance class. Delivering financial education through digital channels and in classroom settings can help children understand how to budget and build wealth, which can lead to more economically prosperous lives. 

“America is failing our children when we don’t provide them with opportunities to study critical economic and personal finance concepts before they leave high school for college, for jobs and for their futures,” said Nan J. Morrison, CEE president and chief executive officer. “While we’re encouraged by some progress in our latest Survey, all young people across the country need more and deserve better.” 

The FinEd50 coalition will be dedicated to achieving: 

• State-level action that guarantees equitable access to a personal finance course for every student. 
• Curriculum that meets the National Standards for Personal Financial Education and is culturally relevant to students’ lives. 

• Providing teachers with access to professional development through innovative funding mechanisms. 
• A measurement mechanism to track access and ensure equitable reach. 

This new coalition builds on Visa’s more than 30-year commitment to developing innovative, free, and easily accessible financial education resources for businesses, individuals, and communities. Learn more about Visa’s commitment to financial education here. 

For more information on FinEd50, please visit: www.FinEd50.com 

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