This year, Connecticut high school students are finally receiving education on loans, credit scores, credit cards, and taxes due to a Senate bill passed last year in a rare bipartisan effort. Beginning with the graduating class of 2027, students must complete a personal finance course. The timing of this legislation couldn't be better, as Connecticut graded poorly, receiving an F in financial literacy rankings by Champlain College in 2023. This year should reflect better on our state's financial literacy standings.
However, numerous challenges persist. Parents often shy away from discussing financial matters with their children, perpetuating a cultural taboo around money discussion. Rather than addressing financial literacy with their kids, many prefer to focus on sports, travel, and social media entertainment. Education is crucial to breaking this cycle and introducing financial courses in high schools can ignite students' curiosity and empower them to seek answers to the economic questions they face.
Beyond high school, college students are also struggling with financial literacy. A study by Spark Institute in 2023 revealed that only 39 percent of college students could answer more than half of the questions correctly about credit scores, loans, retirement savings, investing, and interest accrual. Compounding these challenges, college education costs have skyrocketed over the past several decades, leading to a significant increase in student loan debt, which now approaches $2 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve.
Recognizing the urgency of addressing these issues, dedicated individuals like Dawn Stanton and Lew Deluca at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) are working tirelessly to disrupt these financial patterns. Stanton, the director of University Access Programs, assists hundreds of college students each year in successfully navigating their SCSU experience. She advises and guides her students and organizes events featuring alums and outside speakers to educate students on wise financial, career, and life decision-making. Meanwhile, Deluca, the director of Student Financial Literacy at SCSU, is actively educating students about financial management. Along with “teaching money,” Deluca was a staunch advocate for the Financial Literacy Bill, fueled by his firsthand experiences witnessing poor financial decision-making among students before and during their college years.
Stanton, Deluca and their team members at SCSU demonstrate an outsized commitment that is truly inspiring. By incorporating financial literacy into high school curricula, we will empower students with essential financial skills and ultimately improve our students' economic well-being as they enter college and head into adulthood.