Thinking about where to start when it comes to implementing the personal finance course guaranteed through SB1054? With more than 70,000 teachers using NGPF curriculum and more than 15,000 participating in NGPF professional learning, NGPF has become the trusted partner to ensure a successful implementation. 

Details about the bill: Great news! Florida Senate Bill 1054, the Dorothy L. Hukill Financial Literacy Act, will guarantee that all Florida high school students will take a one semester personal finance course before they cross the graduation stage. This bill was signed into law in March of 2022. 

Why is this important? As of September 2022, Florida is one of 15 states that now are in the process of implementing or have implemented this guaranteed one semester personal finance course. It is also the largest in the nation to make this guarantee so the nation is watching for best practices on how to successfully implement this essential course at scale.  

Research has found that financial education has many beneficial impacts including: 

• Manage credit better with credit scores going up and delinquency rates falling. 
• Make better decisions about student loans including shifting to low interest loans from high, and you don’t rack up credit card debt, and you don’t use private loans, which are  more expensive.”
• Reduces likelihood of taking out expensive payday loans.
• Increased savings from teachers and positive spillover effects with parents too! 

How can teachers prepare to teach this course at no cost? 

• Be one of the first 2,000 teachers in Florida to participate in 20 hours of professional learning and earn up to $500. This is possible through a grant administered by Next Gen Personal Finance and the Stiles-Nicholson Foundation. 
• Grant program begins on November 8, 2022 and will continue until 2,000 teachers earn the $500 stipend. 
• Additional details here

• Earn professional learning hours through: 
• Certification Courses: Build your confidence in challenging content areas by investing only 2 hours per week; 11 different courses available, including Consumer Skills, Investing and Insurance
• On-Demand: Work at your own pace and on your own schedule with NGPF On-Demand with more than 40 one-hour modules available. 
• Live Virtual PD: Find resources you can use immediately with your students, collaborate with educators or attend a speaker series event every Thursday; five live events held weekly. 

• Review NGPF curriculum
• Used by more than 2,000 Florida teachers today
• NGPF's turnkey Semester Course - updated summer of 2022 - makes lesson planning a cinch with each lesson including: 
• Discussion prompts
• Engaging activities and Arcade games
• Exit tickets
• Already have a curriculum you like? Pick and choose popular supplemental NGPF resources, including: 
• FinCap Friday: weekly current events video + quiz with 3 million plays to date
• Arcade Games: More than 7 million game plays annually with 10 games currently available! 
• Questions of the Day: More than 700 bell ringers to choose from

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): 

What are the standards that will be taught in the course? 

Per the legislation, the following topics must be covered through instruction or discussion: 

• Types of bank accounts offered, opening and managing a bank account, and assessing the quality of a depository institution’s services. 
• Balancing a checkbook. 
• Basic principles of money management, such as spending, credit, credit scores, and managing debt, including retail and credit card debt. 
• Completing a loan application. 
• Receiving an inheritance and related implications. 
• Basic principles of personal insurance policies. 
• Computing federal income taxes. 
• Local tax assessments. 
• Computing interest rates by various mechanisms. 
• Simple contracts. 
• Contesting an incorrect billing statement. 
• Types of savings and investments. 
• State and federal laws concerning finance.

When does this guaranteed course take effect?

For students entering grade 9 in the 2023-2024 school year and thereafter. Research has found that this course is best taught in the 11th or 12th grade when students are closer to major life decisions including life after high school, opening a bank account, obtaining a part-time job and starting to drive a car, to name just a few. 

My district leaders are interested in learning more about implementation strategies. Do you have any tips? 

Dr. Carly Urban from Montana State University interviewed states that have been through the experience of implementing this course at scale. Her findings have been delivered in this report, Best Practices Implementing Financial Education in High Schools. 

What guidance has the Florida Department of Education provided on the implementation of this course? 

We will include their guidance once it has been released. 

Is NGPF PD approved in the state of Florida? 

As of September 2022, 567 Florida teachers have completed close to 10,000 hours of NGPF professional development which has been approved in districts across the state. 

Are there schools in our state already guaranteeing a personal finance course? 
The Got Finance? map provides insights on how hundreds of schools in your state are currently providing access to financial education. The Gold Standard schools are already guaranteeing that every high school student takes a one semester personal finance and may be useful thought partners as you implement at your school.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.