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From Hilary Hunt, The Making Cents Project
On Wednesday, December 13th, Senate Bill 843 was passed by the legislature and approved by the governor. It is slated to become Act 35 of 2023. While the main emphasis of this legislation was on interstate teacher mobility, critical components of another senate bill (SB 647) were added just before the bill was finalized. The full text of the bill that passed is available here. Below are the key elements related to personal finance begin on page 112 of the PDF and are summarized below:
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Beginning with the 2026-2027 school year, all Pennsylvania schools (public and nonpublic) will be required to provide a mandatory course in personal finance with a value of at least one-half credit, AND all students shall be required to complete this course once during grade 9, 10, 11, or 12 (with provisions for accommodations for students with disabilities).
- The State Board of Education (SBE) shall revise the state's academic standards to include personal finance (see more about this below).
- The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) will be responsible for updating its model curriculum for personal finance no later than school year 2025-2026, including a model and list of educational resources to assist schools in implementing the mandatory course.
- PDE will clarify which certifications qualify an educator to teach the mandatory course to include at a minimum family and consumer sciences; business, computer, and information technology; mathematics; and social studies.
Be on the lookout for additional communication from The Making Cents Project as more information is available about this recently passed legislation, AND register for one of the Making Cents PA webinars on January 18th at 10 AM, 3 PM, or 7PM to get the most up-to-date information.
Click here to download the recently passed legislation
State Board of Education Considering Personal Financial Standards
When the State Board of Education (SBE) meets again on January 11th, members of the Chapter 4 committee will likely consider amended versions of a proposed set of personal finance standards in addition to newly revised versions of the academic standards for economics, family and consumer sciences, and career education and work.
What do we know about the standards so far? They are divided into the following grade levels: K-2, 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12, and they include the six strands below:
- Personal Finance Fundamentals
- Income
- Spending
- Saving and Investing
- Risk and Insurance
- Credit
Be on the lookout for an email with a link to the proposed standards as soon as they become available, AND register below for one of three Making Cents PA webinars on January 18th that will feature updates on the standards and recent legislation!
10 AM Webinar --- 3 PM Webinar --- 7 PM Webinar
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