Building Fiscal Foundations for the Next Generation

Learning that Governor Ron DeSantis signed a financial literacy bill to help prepare students for the real world?¹ Exciting. Realizing that you graduate high school in 2022, and the bill wouldn’t take effect until the 2023-24 school year? Not as exciting.

While I might be a lost cause, other young people certainly shouldn’t be. And while Florida’s new requirement of a half-credit course in financial literacy to graduate high school is a genuine step in the right direction, additional policies around the United States serve as examples of how Florida can do even more to protect American financial futures.

Now more than ever, student loan debts are soaring² in an economy that few feel safe in,³ with a crummy-at-best job market that proves daunting for entry-level professionals.⁴ In August 2025, the unemployment rate for young people aged 16-24 was 10.5%.

And even if the average person triumphs as David against the job market that is Goliath, things hardly get better. The general rising cost of living is alarming, but many in Generation Z (born 1997-2012) are also feeling the weight of financial pressures like credit card debt. 52% of Gen Z respondents in a March 2025 Newsweek poll said that this debt is a concern “most or all of the time.⁵” There has never been a greater impetus for policy and K-12 curriculum that teaches our country’s youth how to navigate fluctuating interest rates, avoid living beyond their means, and build an emergency fund—let alone invest beyond that.

That’s why the Dorothy L. Hukill Financial Literacy Act was a welcome addition to high school curriculum. The bill was named to honor former State Senator Hukill for her career-long advocacy for financial literacy education in schools. Personal financial literacy courses in Florida will cover types of bank accounts, credit scores, taxes, and managing debt. Nonetheless, concerns about financial preparedness and tutelage remain as Americans feel insecure. Fortunately, our 50-state federalist society offers a few case studies for what to do and what not to do in preparing students for their economic futures.

What Seems to be Working?

Let’s start with the personal finance course requirements themselves. Make no mistake, Florida was absolutely in the right to join the now 35 states⁶ that require students to take some kind of course in personal finance to graduate. And there’s evidence that these requirements are helping young adults feel, at the very least, somewhat more prepared to tackle topics like budgeting and saving.⁷ The National Endowment for Financial Education reports that personal finance course requirements are improving student credit behaviors, as well as informing financing decisions for postsecondary education.

Beyond the simple requirement of a course, states like Utah deserve even higher marks for their work to improve the quality of their financial literacy curriculum.⁸ In Utah, educators can become eligible for a General Financial Literacy Endorsement, which demonstrates that teachers have completed advanced training and are well-versed in key financial concepts before leading the class. This teacher preparation on a subject that, if misinformed, could easily set students up for failure is essential to promoting sound futures. Utah goes further by requiring students to pass an End-of-Course (EOC) exam with a cutoff score of 74%. Despite my reservations about the dominance of standardized testing across subjects, I’d argue that a financial literacy EOC with attainable scoring requirements like Utah’s truly motivates students to become more knowledgeable about personal finances to pass and graduate. Any exam that involves application, rather than simple repetition, of this knowledge is worth keeping in my book.

Rhode Island is particularly unique in that it requires some demonstration of financial literacy for students to graduate high school, but such can be demonstrated through various methods.⁹ Unlike Utah, while high schools in Rhode Island must offer a stand-alone financial literacy course, there is no requirement for this course to be completed. In 2021, the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education decided that students can do one of four things. They can complete the stand-alone financial literacy course, complete a project demonstrating financial literacy, pass a Council-approved assessment, or demonstrate proficiency in an alternative manner that must be approved by the council. This requirement deserves high marks because it allows for different students to apply and demonstrate the same skills in different ways. This is essential for students who themselves learn in different ways and allows various channels for success.

Where Should We Hit the Books Harder?

While 35 states feature some form of economic and personal finance education across our union, 15 remain with no requirements whatsoever.vi 30% of our states are offering little to nothing of a fiscal foundation for their students. That means millions of students will leave high school with little to no formal education on the understanding of their personal finances, leading many to join the statistical pool of Americans who neither feel financially literate nor confident about how to navigate economic uncertainty. This spells trouble for maintaining economic security among Americans in an age of rising wealth inequality and diminishing purchasing power.

Investments in financial literacy curriculum can be made earlier, too. Requirements in middle and elementary schools for curriculum allowing students to learn and apply principles of financial literacy are essentially absent nationwide. Yes, high schoolers may better understand these complex concepts, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t ways to practice things like needs vs. wants, frugality, and non-instant gratification for the lower grade levels. When educating students to understand their finances is an afterthought, young Americans may be only beginning to understand the principles of credit and interest just before, or even after, they sign binding, life-changing agreements like student loans. Florida would be wise to pioneer an investment in its younger students’ financial education–so when they come into the world, they’re making informed decisions.

Additionally, investments in the quality of the educators and financial literacy curriculum would be a welcome change for Florida. Its Department of Education does not offer any educator certificates in financial literacy. This absence of credentialing ultimately weakens the integrity of the subject, especially without consistency in standards. Equally important is the promotion of engagement among students, so that they may tangibly apply the financial skills taught in the classroom. One such application is demonstrated through varying state bankers’ associations’ participation in Teach Children to Save Day in April.¹⁰ The day features thousands of bankers across the country engaging with students in classrooms, raising financial awareness, and providing resources like activity sheets for students to take part in the principles they are teaching. Without engaging activities and applications of knowledge engrained in curriculum requirements, however, there is little assurance that students in all areas of a state will receive the same quality or standard of a fiscal education.

Conclusion

Financial literacy goes beyond dollars and cents for the education system. At the end of the day, students of the next generation may no longer need to balance a physical checkbook—but they must understand how to balance a budget, plan for uncertainty, and steward resources wisely. These lessons cultivate responsibility, foresight, and independence in our age, which is far from economically certain.

If Florida and other states across the country are serious about building durable economic foundations for the future, then ensuring the quality and consistency of a financial education must be a top priority for policymakers. That entails investments not only in curriculum, but in the educators who teach it and the young students who stand to benefit from an earlier exposure to its principles. The returns on these investments compound far beyond an individual. Financial literacy in Florida and beyond means stronger, self-sufficient communities that secure the vitality of our economy as a whole.

When the Sunshine State makes those quality investments, its students will not only understand how to manage money. Young people entering the workforce and the real world will understand how to manage their futures—and they’ll shine brighter for it.

Ian J. Parry is the Advancement Manager at The James Madison Institute

Bu⁠i⁠ld⁠i⁠ng F⁠i⁠scal Founda⁠t⁠⁠i⁠ons for ⁠t⁠he Nex⁠t⁠ Genera⁠t⁠⁠i⁠on