Rhode Island – Fast Lane
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Rhode Island

Rhode Island is one of just 14 states that does not require personal finance to be integrated into high school curricula, and its young people have demonstrated low financial literacy levels. To address this problem, General Treasurer Seth Magaziner called for the expansion of personal finance course offerings and improvement of the personal finance instruction in Rhode Island public schools. As a result, the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) has published voluntary standards for teaching personal finance.

In collaboration with the Rhode Island Jump$tart Coalition, the Rhode Island Council for Economic Education, the Rhode Island Financial Empowerment Roundtable, and the Rhode Island Department of Education, Magaziner published a report explaining the financial challenges experienced by Rhode Islanders in comparison to peers nationally, demonstrating the need for money management classes and proposing that financial literacy be a graduation requirement starting with the high school class of 2022.

The report’s recommendations include providing micro-credentialing opportunities for personal finance educators, providing educators with financial resources, and requiring all public high schools to offer personal finance courses that are aligned to RIDE standards by the academic year 20192020.