K-12 Financial Education Mandates. Emma Donahue

Episode 214: NEFE in November. Part 3

A high school education is supposed to prepare students for the "real world." However, for many students, the reality is that they graduate without any real-world knowledge of personal finance. This is a problem because personal finance is one of the most important life skills that somebody can have.

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how many American adults live on the financial edge, and this has boosted ongoing efforts to make financial literacy a mandatory part of high school education.

This month we're celebrating the 30th anniversary of the National Endowment for Financial Education. To honor this special event, I've invited some of the staff from NEFE to discuss some of the most recent topics and statistics from polls they have conducted that are impacting financial education. We'll also talk about how financial literacy helped shape their personal lives - both the good times as well as tough moments.

In this episode, I chat with Emma Donahue, NEFE's manager of Policy and Advocacy, who focuses on advancing NEFE's policies around K-12 financial education mandates. All that is equal is not always equitable. We discuss the importance of starting a financial education early to empower kids to learn about money.

To learn more about NEFE's recent article, Not all Mandates are Created Equal: a 2022 Legislative Recap, visit NEFE.org