This new requirement will apply to the class of 2027, which consists of current sophomores.
For years, Grants Pass School District 7 has given a curriculum on career path skills, but not on personal finance. Trisha Evens, director of secondary education, stated that parents had requested this type of course.
“We’ve been told, ‘My kid doesn’t know how to open a bank account, how to invest, how to balance a checkbook, or how credit cards work.’ “We’d like it to have some real-world application,” she explained.
Evens stated that the purpose of these classes is to prepare students for real-world situations.
“Students will be more prepared for life after high school to navigate day-to-day living, away from their parent’s home, on their own, contributing to our economy, to our workforce in a way that helps us be productive,” she told the audience.
However, Evens stated that it is more difficult for the district to construct a new, separate course as required by the state than to integrate the information into present classrooms. The district is developing a personal finance course, which will be offered next year.
“We offer economics, so one would think personal finance could just integrate into the economics class, but it became very clear over the summer that is not allowed,” she told me. “We are in the process of developing that. There will be a residual influence on some of our other classes, but we haven’t completely figured it out yet.”
According to the law, the higher education and professional path skills course covers topics such as job applications, college, financial aid, and scholarships, as well as improving career-related skills.
Meanwhile, the personal financial education course covers topics such as credit ratings, investments, budgeting techniques, taxes, and financial well-being.
“Many districts are currently determining what implementation of the new diploma requirements related to Senate Bill 3 may look like depending on what’s already in place within their local school district,” according to a statement from the Oregon Department of Education. “ODE is committed to supporting all districts in this transition through the development of new state standards, professional learning opportunities, and sharing instructional material resources.”
Some districts, such as the Klamath County School District, already have these classes in place and will only need to make minimal changes to meet state requirements.
Others, such as the Phoenix-Talent School District, are still in the planning phase for both courses.
The Medford School District will instead “develop a strategic, four-year scope and sequence of career and college readiness credits for students,” according to a district statement. “This approach allows students to get the most developmentally appropriate standards at the age when those standards will be most relevant to them.”
“Districts can decide locally how the courses will be implemented and the grade levels in high school in which students will take the courses based on the law and rule,” according to an ODE announcement.
Evens stated that Grants Pass School District 7 has already seen favorable results in the years it has offered the course on career path skills.
“The class allows students to explore things they might not have done if they hadn’t taken that interest survey and realized, ‘Hey, I have a real strength in engineering.'” “Perhaps I should look into what kind of careers an engineer would have,” she remarked. “It opens up new possibilities for pupils, which is exactly what we want them to know. There’s plenty of opportunity.”
School districts can also request a one-year exemption from these new state criteria if they are unable to provide the courses owing to a shortage of competent teachers.