WASHINGTON - (Business Wire) A 2007 survey of college students found that more than 75 percent of the respondents
“wish they had more help preparing for their financial future.
” Despite surveys and reports documenting Americans
’ poor knowledge of personal finance basics, financial education is currently only required learning in eighteen states.
As part of a concerted initiative to promote the inclusion of financial education in state standards and required courses, the Jump$tart Coalition® for Personal Financial Literacy and Citi’s Office of Financial Education have created an on-line map that serves as a state-by-state report card on financial education requirements. The map is located on Jump$tart’s web site, http://www.jumpstart.org/state_legislation/index.cfm
The site is color coded: Gold – Requires at least a one-semester course devoted entirely to personal finance content. Green – Requires personal finance instruction to be incorporated into other required subject matter. Pink – No requirement (although personal finance may be taught as an elective). To learn the status of a state, users can simply roll their cursor over that state on the map and a short summary will appear. For more information, they can click on the desired state and receive complete details about the requirement (passed legislative bills, enacted school code, personal finance standards).
“Finally, a user-friendly, real-time site has been developed to answer the question, ‘how many states require personal finance instruction?’ By being able to make changes to the web site immediately upon passage of a bill or change in a school education code, this site will be enormously helpful in tracking the number of states that have instituted a personal finance requirement,” said Dara Duguay, Director of Citi’s Office of Financial Education.
The site also has the embedded ability for users to report any new developments. And, therefore, creating a real-time update and compilation of the status of U.S. youth financial education.
Jump$tart Coalition In its 12-year history, the Jump$tart Coalition® has brought visibility and—through its biennial survey of high school seniors—research-based data to the financial literacy movement. Jump$tart is a Washington, DC-based not-for-profit organization that seeks to improve the personal financial literacy of students in kindergarten through college. One of its premier services—the Jump$tart Personal Finance Clearinghouse—is available to parents, students and consumers alike at www.jumpstartclearinghouse.org.
Citi, Inc.
Citi, the leading global financial services company, has some 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 100 countries, providing consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, and wealth management. Citi’s major brand names include Citibank, CitiFinancial, Primerica, Citi Smith Barney and Banamex. Additional information may be found at www.citi.com.
Citi Financial Education Program
Based on the belief that knowledge is your greatest asset, the Citi Financial Education Program is a global, company-wide effort to identify, support and implement initiatives that help give individuals, families and communities the tools needed to make sound financial decisions. Citi’s 10-year, $200 million global commitment is focused in three areas: Personal, Small Business and Institutional Financial Education. Additional information about Citi Financial Education Program, including Citi Foundation guidelines, links and resources and the Citi Financial Education Program Curriculum and Facilitator’s Guide may be found at http://financialeducation.citi.com.
Media:
Citi
Val Hendy, 212-559-3362
hendyv@citi.com
Dara Duguay, 202-220-3691
duguayd@citi.com
Jump$tart
Laura Levine, 202-466-8610
llevine@jumpstart.org
