States double down on financial literacy (Under the Hood)

The nation’s largest city is gearing up for an in-school banking program to enhance financial literacy for its 1 million public school students. Earlier this month, New York Mayor Eric Adams revealed the names of a dozen financial institutions enlisted to participate in the city’s Financial Literacy for Youth initiative, dubbed FLY. The program’s goal is to teach public school students how to save, spend and invest money, manage credit, and handle risk. New York joins Delaware, Texas, Colorado and Kentucky in passing legislation this year mandating completion of a personal finance course as a prerequisite for high school graduation. The bills go into effect for students entering ninth grade in 2026. More than two dozen states already have similar requirements in place, and 14 others have active financial education bills, according to Next Gen Personal Finance , a nonprofit advocacy group that provides free personal finance curricula and professional development for educators. Implementation dates vary, though. For instance, California passed its legislation last year, but the personal finance course only becomes mandatory for students graduating in 2031. NYC’s banking pilot, which is rolling out initially in largely unbanked communities, is intended to provide students and their families with access to banking options from Bank of America , Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union , Citizens Bank , M&T Bank , Neighborhood Trust Federal Credit Union , PNC Bank , Ridgewood Savings Bank , TD Bank , Santander Bank , Spring Bank , Urban Upbound Federal Credit Union and Wells Fargo Bank . Typically, in-school banking programs allow students to make deposits and open savings accounts. In some cases, students can tour bank branches. Additionally, New York’s program calls for financial literacy coaches to be assigned in public school districts to teach students about responsible financial habits. With time, those coaches will offer free financial counseling to students’ families and help develop classroom resources for teachers. Other states’ programs In Connecticut, Webster Bank is among the institutions that have stepped up to offer the requisite financial programming for free in New Haven’s public schools. Stamford, Conn.-based Webster Bank is a lead sponsor of the Connecticut Financial Scholars program, which provides teacher training, in-school financial education, after-school investing enrichment and summer workforce development for teens. Grow Financial Federal Credit Union is another financial institution focused on improving financial literacy in its home state of Florida. This month, the Tampa-based credit union partnered with the University of South Florida ’s Muma College of Business to develop a clinic that provides financial education resources to students, high school teachers and the Tampa Bay community. The alliance is an effort to reverse the region’s designation as one of the worst in the nation for managing household debt. To that end, Grow Financial has earmarked $1.8 million for the clinic’s activities over the next four years. Specifically, a USF professor will oversee student coaches who will deliver workshops, speak to high school classes and offer one-on-one instruction on topics such as budgeting, debt management, credit and home loans. International efforts Across the pond, financial literacy has taken center stage, as well. This month, England’s Department of Education announced an overhaul of its curriculum by 2028 to require financial education skills for all primary and secondary school students. Coursework will include lessons on where money comes from, why saving matters and how to differentiate between needs and wants. Teens will learn about interest, credit scores, debt, budgeting, paystubs and how mortgages and rent work. On the flip side, while Australia recognizes the importance of boosting students’ financial capabilities, several years ago the country banned financial institutions — including banks and credit unions — from running banking programs or teaching financial literacy in public schools. Instead, Australian legislators opted to develop their own resources to teach money-management skills to schoolchildren. The decision resulted from a review by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission that found that 180,000 students across nearly 4,000 primary schools held accounts with as many as 10 banks. The evaluation called into question the programs’ effectiveness, finding in some cases that banks had employed sophisticated marketing tactics to lure children into becoming customers without demonstrating that the programs improved savings behavior. In theory, exposure to personal finance education will have a long-term impact on students’ financial knowledge, decision-making and monetary behaviors. But quantifying those results might prove challenging. How much do money skills courses improve consumer behavior? Will new graduates be more successful than their parents at saving money? How will credit scores trend? Will loan default rates decline? Only time will tell.

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States double down on financial literacy (Under the Hood)

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