Dear Editor:
In New Jersey, high school students learn how to solve for X—but not how to file taxes, budget rent, or avoid debt. Without adequate personal finance instruction, students graduate lacking critical skills to manage individual finances.
Budget Bridge Foundation, a youth-led nonprofit founded by Randolph High School students Shubh Potdar and Evan Schwartz, along with Parsippany Hills High School students Avi Mehta and Rohit Viswanath, aims to close financial literacy gaps in New Jersey and beyond by providing essential personal finance education and advice to students. However, policies enacted by the Parsippany Board of Education have undermined this vision.
Parsippany once led the way with personal finance education, requiring a stand-alone Personal Finance course for graduation. In 2009, the New Jersey Board of Education enacted a policy requiring 2.5 credits of financial literacy for high school graduation. The purpose of this policy is to prepare students to handle real-world responsibilities, such as budgeting, credit, taxes, and student loans. For over 5 years, Parsippany only allowed a Personal Finance course to fulfill the state’s mandated financial literacy requirement, clearly aligning with the original intent of the 2009 New Jersey policy.
However, in February 2017, Parsippany’s Board of Education approved a change allowing AP Economics to fulfill the state’s financial literacy requirement. The district provided no explicit rationale for this shift, and we believe this decision defeats the purpose of the state’s financial literacy requirement.
AP Economics is unquestionably valuable, but its curriculum focuses on abstract economic theories—such as GDP, market equilibrium, and interest rates—rather than topics related to managing one’s finances. Moreover, Parsippany attempts to cover personal finance topics in the AP Economics course only for five weeks after the AP exams conclude. Our data shows that this brief period is insufficient, poorly enforced, and inadequately prepares students.
A survey conducted among Parsippany Hills students reveals that 62.1% of respondents plan to or have already substituted AP Economics for Personal Finance. Yet, over half of these students who took AP Economics as a replacement course rated it a three or lower (on a scale of 1–5) in adequately teaching personal finance concepts. AP Economics teaches students how to think like Business Owners and Policymakers, not as individuals managing their finances.
The course is undoubtedly one of the most practical courses at Parsippany Hills and should continue to be offered; however, it should only be provided as a regular Advanced Placement course and not as a replacement for the state’s 2.5 credit financial literacy graduation requirement. Personal finance uniquely aligns with the state’s original financial literacy policy intent, as it’s the only course teaching students real-world skills, such as writing checks, understanding the difference between debit and credit, and managing their own money.
Personal finance is financial literacy for all; AP Economics is not a form of financial literacy. Budget Bridge Foundation urges the Parsippany-Troy Hills Board of Education to ensure that only Personal Finance fulfills the state’s 2.5-credit financial literacy requirement, removing AP Economics as an eligible alternative.
We will speak at the next Board of Education meeting to advocate for this change. Let’s restore what the law—and common sense—intended: practical financial education for all.
Avi Mehta
