On July 20, Connecticut governor Led Lemont signed bill senate 1165 into law, which makes financial literacy a requirement.  This law will go into effect this fall, for the upcoming freshman class of 2027.  

Before this law was signed, financial literacy was just an elective in most high schools.  Meaning students had the option to take the class, but did not have to take the class to graduate high school. Financial literacy will be included as a humanities or an elective course, meaning students will need to take this class in order to graduate.  Connecticut will also be joining 20 other states, like Rhode Island and New Hampshire, who have already adopted this law.  

Some students in West Hartford schools think that making financial literacy a requirement is an amazing idea, and should have been a law years ago.  “I feel as if it makes sense to make it a requirement for incoming students.  It can expose them to attributes they will have to face when they become older.”  says Sadajah Miller, a sophomore at Hall High school.  Students think that students taking this class will make them feel more prepared as they walk into the world of adulthood.  Storm Bentley, a senior at Conard High school, also agrees that this new requirement is a good idea and will help students in the long run.  “I think financial literacy is important to learn because it’s actually beneficial to us as students.  It can help you in the long run no matter what you do. I feel like everyone should at least have some understanding of financial literacy.”

As they put financial literacy in, Connecticut is also taking the Mastery Experience out, so students will not have to do a project in order to graduate.  But some believe that they should have kept the mastery experience as a requirement instead.  “It is a good class to take because it prepares you for the real world but I believe that the mastery experience gives students more of a way to express themselves.” says Naimah Ballard, a senior at hall high school.  There are some worries that even if they take financial literacy, some students won’t pay attention and won’t really learn anything from it.

Connecticut thinks that financial literacy is important enough to make it a requirement for students.  They hope that this will teach students things that they will use for the rest of their life.