PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Pennsylvania high school students will soon be required to take a personal finance course in order to graduate.
“While it’s important to understand biology and history, they’re not going to be using them in their day-to-day living,” said Cindy Axelrod, a finance professor at Temple University’s Fox School of Business.
She says teaching financial literacy at a young age will set students up for success.
“When you graduate high school you’re 18 years old and you’re suddenly thrust out into the world and you don’t have the financial tool to be able to succeed financially. Suddenly, you have bills to pay, you have independence.”
The new graduation requirement will be implemented in the 2026-2027 school year.
According to the General Assembly of the Commonwealth, a school entity or nonpublic school must provide a mandatory course in personal financial literacy worth at least half of a credit.
Students will have to complete the course once during their high school career.
Ed Nelling, head of the finance department at Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business, says it’s been considered taboo to talk about money in the past, but sharing financial successes and failures with your children can help them in the future.
Pennsylvania is one of 25 states to pass legislation requiring financial literacy courses for high schoolers.