Resources

Given the economic consequences from the coronavirus pandemic, America’s young people are facing a world of high unemployment, record-breaking consumer debt, and a potential recession. Providing equitable access to personal financial education is more important now than ever.

This brief aims to support state education agencies, local education agencies, and other education leaders interested in implementing financial literacy education—whether course requirements, standards adoption, or use of curriculum materials. It describes relevant considerations and provides national and regional contexts.

The content is informed primarily by the Region 2 Comprehensive Center’s (R2CC’s) technical assistance in Rhode Island in 2021–22, which entailed supporting state education agency staff to understand districts’ current levels of implementation and anticipated challenges with meeting the legislative requirements of financial literacy policies.

This project was supported by the Region 2 Comprehensive Center, one of 19 federally funded regional comprehensive centers. The comprehensive centers provide capacity-building services and technical assistance to state education agencies to improve education outcomes for all students, close achievement gaps, and improve the quality of instruction. WestEd operates the R2CC, which serves Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island.