Within the walls of every country, there is a complex economy in which the government must manage corporations and, most importantly, finances. Finances are an everyday issue for thousands of Americans, and their struggles only grow more prominent by the day. Whether this struggle comes from mortgages, a plethora of different types of insurances or student loans, there remains a crisis within the lives of many. 

Pennsylvania has brought a bill before the state senate to require all students to take a personal finance and economics course during the time that they are in high school. This bill, having been passed at the time of this publication, will come into effect in the 2024-2025 school year. 

For the benefit of the students, all seniors next year will be required to take this class in the 2023-2024 school year at Freedom Area High School. In this class, taught by Mr. Nicholas DeFrancesco the curriculum strives to teach kids how to properly manage their finances in the coming years outside of high school. A large problem that many students face when leaving high school is student loan debt, and this course will cover this, as well as many other topics such as balancing checks and filling out mortgage plans. 

“We had to pump it out through scheduling, and I answered a couple of parent phone calls that thought it was a repeat of the current Financial Literacy Course. This is different from that class because this new course does not involve math. Also, we have to plan for the graduation requirement changes that will be happening with the addition of this course,” guidance counselor Mr. Christopher Bennett said.

Considering this class requirement will be enforced next year, the current junior class has some of their own opinions on the addition of this new course that will be implemented into their schedule for senior year. 

“It restricts my options from the classes I want to take and it would interfere with my schedule for my senior year of high school,” junior Jaden Winterhalter said.

 Although it may seem obvious, this will affect any students planning to take a full schedule their senior year. Many students have already begun planning for this change after a presentation from both Mr. Bennett and guidance counselor Ms. Rita Kaplin that addressed all of the current juniors that this change will be implemented into their senior years.

This new addition is an interesting change for the district as a whole. Who will teach the class has yet to be determined or publicly announced. Both staff and students are trying to work out their concerns and questions about the new class. While the curriculum strives for financial knowledge to be given to all kids that will be graduating, more comes to adding a class than meets the eye.