Personal Finance Initiative

Personal Finance piggy bank

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Overview:

In the spring of 2007 the Ohio Council on Economic Education, its network of Centers for Economic Education, the Ohio Department of Education, and the Ohio Treasurer of State and his staff moved quickly to form a partnership in response to Senate Bill 311, which mandates economics and personal finance education for all Ohio high school students beginning in 2010. The applicable text of SB 311 is found further down this page.

The goal of this partnership was to develop a pilot Teachers Academy program for roll out in June 2007, to help schools make the transition from perhaps minimal economics and personal finance instruction to a fully fledged and effective curriculum. It was decided early on that the 7-plus pilot Academies would have a shared agenda and kit of teacher’s materials, and we began to develop a list of topics to meet the approved Ohio State Standards. We then selected a range of materials from which teachers could choose to bring these concepts alive in their classroom. The results all around were stunning! In the initial 7 Academies we enrolled over 260 teachers, and while some regions were able to offer additional trainings since then, we continue to have waiting lists for future Teachers Academies. The feedback from teachers was excited – as you can see from the following comments from Academy participants:

“The Teachers Academy was excellent. It was well organized and provided so many resources to be used in our classroom. The facilities were wonderful and the environment so welcoming! A great learning experience!”
“This was an EXCELLENT conference! Thank you for compiling this amazing resource ‘bank.’ We appreciate the investment you’ve made in us and our students.”
“Thank you so much! I learned a lot and am excited to incorporate this into my presentations.”
“This class was wonderful. It was great to actually leave a workshop with resources this good.”
“Excellent! I will share the information with my co-workers.”
“I have told all of my friends (teachers & non-teachers) about this workshop. Also, I have told some of my girlfriends about the women & finance seminars as well."

If you visit our Modules page, you will find the six personal finance modules as we developed them initially, as well as references to the materials we used. We selected a variety of pieces, including several full curriculum packets, reference materials, and hands-on activity items. Stay tuned, for we will continue to refine the Academy agenda and materials, and provide this information to you. Of course we would really love to hear from you – please don’t hesitate to contact our the Council or our Centers for assistance as you prepare to offer economics and personal finance content in your district, as well as for your professional development needs.

Amended Substitute Senate Bill 311 - Enacted December 2006:

Amended Substitute Senate Bill 311 passed the General Assembly late last year and was signed by Governor Taft shortly before he left office. Popularly knows as the “Ohio Core” legislation, it contained language to provide for instruction in financial literacy, and referenced the social studies standards. Ohio Revised Code Section 3313.603 (C) now reads in part:

(C) Beginning with students who enter ninth grade for the first time on or after July 1, 2010, except as provided in divisions (D) to (F) of this section, the requirements for graduation from every public and chartered nonpublic high school shall include twenty units that are designed to prepare students for the workforce and college. The units shall be distributed as follows:…

(6) Social studies, three units, which shall include both of the following:

American history, one-half unit;

American government, one-half unit.

Each school shall integrate the study of economics and financial literacy, as expressed in the social studies academic content standards adopted by the state board of education under section 3301.079 of the Revised Code, into one or more existing social studies credits required under division (C)(6) of this section, or into the content of another class, so that every high school student receives instruction in those concepts. In developing the curriculum required by this paragraph, schools shall use available public-private partnerships and resources and materials that exist in business, industry, and through the centers for economics education at institutions of higher education in the state.