Three takeaways from Gov. Ron DeSantis signing of the financial literacy bill that requires high school students to take a half-credit course covering a range of fundamentals, from savings accounts to credit scores. First, it’s necessary. Second, it has, thankfully, nothing to do with race, gender, politicized speech or pandemic mandates. So unlike Tallahassee. If schools are to meet their charge of preparing students for life after schooling, this was a pivotal, long overdue step.
And third, don’t stop here if we want the best-prepared high school graduates. Make civics classes relevant about democratic staples such as voting rights and responsibilities and prep them on the double-edged sword that is modern media: How it’s used to inform and abused to manipulate.