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NILES, MI (WSBT) — A new high school graduation requirement for Michigan high school students is preparing them to manage their money for the future.
Personal finance is now a requirement to graduate.
From paying taxes to financial investments and most importantly budgeting, setting kids up for the future means knowing how to manage your money.
Developing a plan to make the most of your financial decisions, students in Michigan will now be required to learn these skills to graduate.
“The required standards have a lot to do with credit management, earning an income, budgeting, insurance, and all the different things that really are important for someone to be able to contribute economically to our system here,” said Dan Applegate, Niles Community Schools Superintendent.
While Niles Community Schools previously offered personal finance as an elective, Superintendent Applegate said the new requirement will set students up for success.
“We want our students when they graduate to have a lot of those options, we want them to contribute economically, especially to the local economy, we want them to be able to informed decisions, we want them to be able to weather any kind of financial issue that hits the economy locally, we want to make sure that they are financially literate, so they can make good decisions,” said Applegate.
WSBT 22 also reached out to the Michigan Department of Education to hear why they believe this requirement will benefit students.
The office of public and government affairs sent a statement to WSBT saying:
“Research demonstrates there is clearly a benefit to students to learn how to manage their finances. This requirement is meeting students where they are and creates a base for the financial footing of young adults in pivotal years and impacts their individual and household financial decisions later in life.”
Superintendent Applegate said with social media and ads targeting kids with no major bills, the class sets up students to make the right decision in the long run.
“They have money that they can spend right now, they don’t have a house payment, they don’t have a car payment many of them, so if they have a job or they have any money, it’s easy in easy out. It’s not a long-term responsibility and people know that. These ads, these marketers, they know that so they target our kids and so it sets up poor financial decisions and so that’s why this personal finance is so important to protect them,” said Applegate.
The new requirement will affect students entering the 9th grade this year.
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