Note to editors: A November ballot initiative forced lawmakers to pass AB 2927, which would require financial planning courses to be taught before high school graduation. Presumably they don’t want to embarrass the public with such an obvious need. Last year’s bill, AB 984, had similar requirements, but not much progress was made.
The public is right. In a 2020 Charles Schwab survey, nearly two-thirds of participants believed financial planning should be taught in schools and was the most important graduation requirement to supplement math, English and science. High school students already have leadership electives—so will graduates immediately become corporate managers? No! Typically, they enter the workforce for two to five years, learn a few tricks, and then enter an MBA program that teaches leadership courses.
We hope these financial planning lessons go beyond budgeting and checking accounts. It’s great to have this information, but will it really help 401(k) participants know what to invest? Surveys show that most 401(k) participants don’t know what to invest, even though providers have websites that teach them how to invest. When half the people don’t know what to do, the system shattered.
David Bach, Sacramento
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Note to editors: From 1960 to 1964, I taught a one-semester “general business” course in economics at the Los Angeles Unified School District high school. It covers balancing your checkbook, managing credit, and more. It has been available for decades.
What happened? The message to the Los Angeles Unified School District is that all students should focus on “college readiness.”
I later became a school counselor in two other school districts in Southern California. It is wrong to say that there is not enough room in the schedules of college-bound students for economics courses. have enough space.
Wendell H. Jones, Ojai
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Note to editors: While the Legislature is debating it, could all high school students be required to pass a U.S. citizenship test to assess naturalization applicants’ knowledge of U.S. government, history, and geography?
John Beckman, Chino Hills
