Dearborn Public Schools was already offering high school students a personal finance course at the university level, even before the governor recently signed a new law requiring students to take such a course.
The district, in partnership with Henry Ford College, began offering Personal Finance, or BFN 141, to all three traditional high schools and the Henry Ford Early College programs this school year.
The personal finance class is available to any student who is interested, and the course can earn credit if students choose to register through dual enrollment. Unlike most dual-enrollment colleges, students can take Personal Finance at their home high school — Fordson, Dearborn High, or Edsel Ford — instead of traveling to the Henry Ford College campus.
On June 16, 2022, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a bill requiring all students to take half a credit of personal finance to complete high school.
The requirement begins with the Class of 2027, which includes students entering eighth grade in the fall.
Personal finance covers topics like balancing a checking account, different types of investments, compound interest rates, and more. Students taking related career/technical courses such as accounting would also meet the requirement.
Dearborn Public Schools and Henry Ford College launched the Personal Finance class as part of a state pilot program to increase students’ financial literacy. The program is part of a state-wide financial empowerment initiative.
“From the moment students join us in kindergarten or preschool, we are focused on educating them to be successful not only in school, but also in life,” says Supt. Glenn Maleyko. “We are proud to be a leader in bringing these critical financial skills to our students so that they have the knowledge to make important financial decisions that could follow them for decades. The district looks forward to expanding personal finance classes to reach all of our students.”