Starting nexy year, students on North Carolina will be required to take and pass a personal finance class to graduate.
The State Board of Education in North Carolina made the announcement on Thursday, stating that the new course will replace one of the American history courses students are currently required to take for graduation.
Deputy Superintendent of Innovation David Stegall reportedly said the change would put North Carolina’s curriculum in line with other states in the country.
“U.S. history in 47 other states is one course … so we’re not trying to go against the grain,” Stegall told WRAL. “We were the exception before.”
North Carolina’s 2019 Teacher of the Year, Mariah Morris, told WRAL that students are “pumped” and want to take this class.
“They want to know about credit and debit, taces, what W-4 forms are, W-2, how to budget, how to get grants for college, what fraud is, 401Ks, interest levels, how to get a mortgage and how to do business forms.”
Last year North Carolina became the 20th state in the nation to require students to complete a financial literacy course to graduate from high school, even though some teachers were fighting the proposal.
The North Carolina State House voted 73-38 on June 27, 2019, to pass a bill that would require high school students to take a course covering paying for college, home mortgages, credit scores, car loans, managing credit cards, and “the true cost of credit.”
“At the end of the day, we all agree that our kids and ourselves actually need to know a whole lot more about financial literacy,” said Rep. Craig Horn, a Union County Republican after the vote was successful.
Students in North Carolina will still be required to earn four social studies credits to graduate which are: world history, American history, founding principles of the United States of America, and North Carolina, as well as economics and personal finance.
