Wisconsin awards $296,000 in financial literacy grants to schools and community groups
Twenty-nine schools, districts and organizations, three Madison and Milwaukee nonprofits among them, will use settlement money to build personal finance teaching ahead of a graduation requirement that starts with the class of 2028.
Madison. Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction and Department of Financial Institutions have awarded $296,000 in Financial Literacy Innovation Grants to 29 schools, school districts and community organizations, the two agencies announced Oct. 8. The money comes from settlement dollars the financial institutions department set aside for financial literacy education.
The grants were made in partnership with the Governor's Council on Financial Literacy and Capability. They are meant to help teachers and districts start programs and events in personal finance, with a specific emphasis on a new graduation requirement. Many recipients plan to open their programs to families and the wider community as well, according to the release.
Who received the money
Most of the 29 recipients on the public instruction department's list are public school districts, among them Appleton, Baraboo, Beaver Dam, Milwaukee Public Schools, Racine Unified and Waunakee. The department says the money went, through a competitive grant program, to public and private schools, community organizations and consortia.
Three community organizations are on the list: Asset Builders of America and Climb USA, both of Madison, and SecureFutures of Milwaukee. Victory Christian Academy, a private school, also received a grant. Neither agency published the amount each recipient received.
School districts were chosen by the public instruction department through a competitive application process, David Mancl, who heads the financial institutions department's Office of Financial Literacy, told Wisconsin Public Radio.
The requirement behind the grants
Under 2023 Wisconsin Act 60, high school students must earn at least half a credit of personal financial literacy to graduate, starting with the class of 2028. The course must cover financial mindset, education and employment, money management, saving and investing, credit and debt, and risk management and insurance. Wisconsin has required schools to teach personal financial literacy from kindergarten through 12th grade since 2017, under 2017 Wisconsin Act 94, the department says.
When the Legislature debated the requirement, the Wisconsin Rural Schools Alliance and the Wisconsin Association of School Boards opposed it, saying the courses had value but would cost districts money at a time when they were already struggling financially, Wisconsin Public Radio reported.
“We have a responsibility to prepare students not just to graduate, but to thrive after graduation, and enhancing personal financial literacy is a key part of that preparation.”
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