Who Will Own Our Children: State Boards of Education Call for Financial Literacy Standard

--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Staggering personal debt, skyrocketing bankruptcies, and the elimination of pension plans have imperiled the nation's economic and social security, and called into question the ability of American consumers to manage their financial destiny. In light of this grave threat to individuals, families, and the country as a whole, a national call for states to establish financial education as a core academic subject in all grades —from Kindergarten through graduation—will be made by the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) at an event at the National Press Club on Thursday, October 5.

The urgent recommendation is part of a broader list of policy proposals being issued from a national commission that has spent the past year scrutinizing the fiscal condition of the American family and the status of financial education in K-12 schools. The result of their work is a new report, Who Will Own Our Children, which looks at the pressing need for greater and more comprehensive financial instruction in public schools given the increasingly complex financial world individuals must navigate to ensure their economic security. The commission and the report have been funded by a grant from the NASD Investor Education Foundation.

Knowledge of savings, credit, money management and investing is necessary these days to make proper financial decisions. Vanishing pensions have transferred responsibility (and risk) for retirement savings to individuals. This is the most visible evidence of the overall push for the public to take greater personal control over their financial security. Unfortunately, many individuals lack a basic understanding of how to adequately manage their earnings, their debt, or their retirement planning. $1.7 trillion in personal debt and a negative national savings rate indicate the country is on an unsustainable and potentially catastrophic fiscal path that can only be avoided with more prudent and informed consumer choices, beginning with financially literate students.

NASBE, www.nasbe.org, represents America's state and territorial boards of education. Our principal objectives are to strengthen state leadership in education policymaking; advocate equality of access to educational opportunity; promote excellence in the education of all students; and assure responsible lay governance of education.