VSCPA Writes Virginia Board of Education to Support Financial Literacy Graduation Requirement
March 13, 2018
Aug.30, 2016
VirginiaBoard of Education
Attn: Melissa Luchau
P.O.Box 2120
Richmond,VA 23218
RE: Virginia’s Board of Education’s “Profile of aVirginia Graduate” and graduation requirements
DearVirginiaBoard of Education:
TheVirginia Society of Certified Public Accountants (VSCPA) would like to thankthe Virginia Board of Education (Board) and the Virginia Department ofEducation for the opportunity to provide comment on the Profile of a Virginia Graduate.
Onbehalf of its 12,000 members, the VSCPA commends the Board’s inclusion of theone unit of credit in economics and personal finance course as a graduationrequirement for all Virginia students in the current Standards of Accreditation.We urge the Board to retain this requirement, which took effect in September2011, as it continues to impact Virginia graduates.
In light of today’s financial challenges and state of theU.S. economy, financial literacy and wise money management are more criticalthan ever for our youth. As a long-standing advocate of educational initiativesthat increase the financial knowledge and fiscal responsibility of Virginia’syouth, the VSCPA urges you, Virginia’s leaders in education, to remain on thecutting edge by retaining educational requirements that increase economic andfinancial literacy of all Virginiastudents.
Financial literacy trends in this country remainstartling. In total, American consumers owe $733 billion in credit carddebt and $1.23 trillion in student loans, and last year over 800,000 Americansfiled for bankruptcy. In addition, 60 percent of U.S. adults say they don’tkeep close track of their spending, 34 percent say they have no non-retirementsavings, and 41 percent give themselves a grade of C, D, or F on theirknowledge of personal finance.
The VSCPA is happy to serve as a resource tothe Board and all Virginia educators in supporting the continuation of theeconomics and personal finance graduation requirement for all Virginia highschools. Together we can make a sound financial future for Virginia’s youth — ensuringour students leave high school with the tools to manage money responsibly andbecome financially independent contributors to society.
If you have any questions, please don’thesitate to contact VSCPA Vice President of Advocacy Emily Walker, CAE, at ewalker@vscpa.com or (804) 612-9428, if we can be ofassistance.
Again, the VSCPA sincerely appreciates theopportunity to participate in the public comment process. Thank you for yourtime and consideration.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Peters, CAE
President & CEO
Virginia Society of CPAs