Steve Lear

Join our mission to bring quality personal finance education to every student in Minnesota.

Who are we?

Minnesota Council on Economic Education(MCEE)

Teaching Teachers and Engaging Students

• History: Since 1961, this 501(c)(3) nonprofit has provided economic and personal finance education to teachers, students, and community members in Minnesota.
• Mission: We equip Minnesotans with the economic and personal finance knowledge and skills to make informed decisions and thrive in our complex world.
• Impact: MCEE has trained over 38,000 teachers, affecting the lives of over 3 million young people. Since 2006, MCEE has also worked with more than 120 community organizations, providing financial education to over 3,000 low-income Minnesotans.

Financial Literacy Coalition of Minnesota (FLCM)

Advocacy, Education, and Support for Teachers

• History: Formed in fall 2022, the Coalition has grown to over 350 individuals and over 20 organizations.
• Mission: To advocate for the passage of a required personal finance course requirement in MN and to help train and support teachers to deliver the course once legislation is passed.

What is the problem we are addressing?

• Lack of financial literacy among Minnesotans.
  • Minnesotans perform poorly on surveys about basic personal finance.
    • Young people aged 18-34 perform much worse than older adults, and their performance has worsened over the past decade.
    • People of color demonstrate less literacy than whites, and females less than males.
• Less than 8% of MN high school students take a semester course in personal finance.
• K-12 teachers lack the preparation to teach personal finance.
  • Only 2-3% of K-12 teachers leave college prepared to teach economics or finance.
  • The amount of teacher training correlates with how much students learn and retain.

What did the Minnesota Council on Economic Education (MCEE)/ Financial Literacy Coalition of MN (FLCM), with your help, accomplish this past year?

The Process

• MCEE facilitated a teacher leader work group to draft elements of the legislation.
• The personal finance bill language (supported by the teacher work group and MCEE/FLCM) included the following elements:
  • Course Length: Specified a semester equivalent course
  • Course Standards: Recommended that the state adopt the national CEE/Jumpstart standards for the course.
  • Course Credit: Personal finance can count as an elective or math credit.
  • Teaching Licenses: Five teacher licensure areas can teach personal finance.
  • Teacher Qualifications: Further teacher qualifications in personal finance and continuing education are required to teach this course.
• FLCM/MCEE hired lobbyists and built an advocacy campaign supporting the legislation.
• FLCM/MCEE achieved great legislative and public visibility for the issue.

Success!!

A required course in personal finance for high school graduation was passed!

•  MN becomes the 20th state to adopt such a requirement.
• 9th graders beginning high school in 2024 will be required to take the course.

What are the next steps in our collaboration?

Strengthen the Language: Pass language that provides more direction to districts/teachers regarding the course length and depth, content (standards), and teacher qualifications.

Prepare Teachers: Provide teachers with the training and curricular resources needed to engage and effectively deliver the course.

How can you help?

1. Join (or enlist others to join) FLCM and receive our newsletters and updates. Fill out a brief survey/form here: z.umn.edu/flcmsurvey
2. Fill out a volunteer opportunity survey here: https://shorturl.at/gESYZ
3. Support MCEE’s personal finance programming. To donate, go to https://mcee.umn.edu/donate. You can target your contribution to support financial literacy education.

The Coalition

FLCM Members/Supporters: 350+ Individuals | Asian Real Estate Association of America TC Chapter | Big I Minnesota | Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage | Financial Service Professionals of Minnesota | Minnesota Association of Health Underwriters | Minnesota Bankers Association | Minnesota Council on Economic Education | Minnesota Council on Latino Affairs | Minnesota Credit Union Network | Minnesota Financial Planning Association | Minnesota Insurance & Financial Services Council | Minnesota Mortgage Association | Minnesota Realtors | Minnesota Society of CPAs | MN Jump$tart | Moneyweave Academy | Next Gen Personal Finance | The Insurance Federation of Minnesota | The National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, Minnesota Chapter | Twin Cities Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals | Twin Cities Chapter of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers

Contact us

Co-Coordinators of FLCM:

Steve Lear, Steve@stevelear.org

Jason Kley, jason.kley@carlsoncap.com

Executive Director of MCEE:

Julie Bunn, jbunn@umn.edu

mcee.umn.edu