Thinking about where to start when it comes to implementing the personal finance course guaranteed by the Kansas State Board of Education vote on November 10th, 2022? With more than 70,000 teachers using NGPF curriculum and more than 15,000 participating in NGPF professional learning, NGPF has become the nation's trusted partner to ensure a successful implementation. 

Details about the vote: Great news! In an 8-to-1 vote with 1 abstention, the Kansas State Board of Education (KSBE) made personal finance a 1/2 credit graduation requirement beginning with the Class of 2027.

Why is this important? As of November 2022, Kansas is the 16th of 17 states that are in the process of implementing or have implemented this guaranteed one semester personal finance course for all high schoolers.

Research has found that financial education has many beneficial impacts including: 

• Managing credit better with credit scores going up and delinquency rates falling,
• Making better decisions about student debt including shifting to lower interest loans, avoiding credit card debt, and limiting private loans,
• Reducing the likelihood of taking out expensive payday loans,
• Increasing savings rates among teachers,
• and positive spillover effects on parents too! 

How can teachers prepare to teach this course at no cost? 

• Earn professional development hours aligned to the semester course through: 
• Certification Courses: Build your confidence in challenging content areas by investing only 2 hours per week; 11 different courses available, including Consumer Skills, Investing and Insurance.
• On-Demand: Work at your own pace and on your own schedule with NGPF On-Demand with more than 40 one-hour modules available. 
• Live Virtual PD: Find resources you can use immediately with your students, collaborate with educators or attend a speaker series event every Thursday; 3-5 live events held weekly. 

• Review NGPF curriculum, which is included in the Kansas State Dept. of Education's Financial Literacy Resource List and used by over 1,000 Kansas teachers today.
  • Lessons with discussion prompts, engaging activities, interactive games, and Exit tickets included
  • FinCap Friday: weekly current events video + quiz with 3 million plays to date
  • Arcade Games: More than 7 million game plays annually with 10 games currently available! 
  • Questions of the Day: More than 700 bell ringers to choose from
• NGPF's turnkey Semester Course - updated summer of 2022 - makes lesson planning a cinch.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): 

What are the standards that will be taught in the course? 

Since many high school students in the state (41% as of November 2022) already took this course in their high schools prior to the board vote, standards have already been adopted for this course in Kansas!

• Refer to the Grade 12 National Standards for Financial Literacy, which the KSDE has adopted.
• We have helpfully separated the Grade 12 Standards above from their Grade 4 and Grade 8 Standards for clarity, given this course is to be taught in high schools.

When does this guaranteed course take effect?

For students entering grade 9 in the 2023-2024 school year and thereafter. Full implementation by the graduating class of 2027. Research has found that this course is best taught in the 11th or 12th grade when students are closer to major life decisions including life after high school, opening a bank account, obtaining a part-time job and starting to drive a car, to name just a few. 

My district leaders are interested in learning more about implementation strategies. Do you have any tips? 

Dr. Carly Urban from Montana State University interviewed states that have been through the experience of implementing this course at scale. Her findings have been delivered in this report, Best Practices Implementing Financial Education in High Schools. 

What new guidance has the Kansas Department of Education provided on the implementation of this course? 

We will include their new guidance once it has been released. In the meantime, the KSDE's existing guidance can be found on this webpage.

Is NGPF PD approved in the state of Kansas? 

As of November 2022, 160 Kansas teachers have completed over 4,500 hours of NGPF professional development which has been approved for Continuing Education Units statewide

Are there schools in our state already guaranteeing a personal finance course? 
The Got Finance? map provides insights on how hundreds of schools in your state are currently providing access to financial education. The Gold Standard Schools are already guaranteeing that every high school student takes a one semester personal finance course, and may be useful thought partners as you implement the course in your school.

About the Author

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

More posts by Tim