Should Voters Decide What Schools Teach?

As they choose a presidential candidate in the November election, California voters may also have an unusual opportunity to decide whether the state should add a new course to its high school graduation requirements.

While supporters say the course is urgently needed, critics say the unusual step of putting curriculum-related issues directly to voters could prompt more such proposals—including the hot-button issues that have plagued many other states over the past three years.

The proposed ballot measure would require a one-semester, one-credit course on personal finance, including instruction in budgeting, credit, and investment, concepts that will help students thrive as adults, supporters say. The item has qualified for the general election ballot, but organizers say they will pull it if a similar bill passes the state legislature in time.

Taking the issue to the voters “is not a step we take lightly,” said Tim Ranzetta, a California businessman who has spent about $7.5 million to support the initiative through a campaign called Californians for Financial Education. “There’s been two decades of attempts [to pass financial literacy bills] in the legislature that have frankly let down California youth, and this is very popular.”

Please help put parents in charge of their child’s education by forwarding this article to other parents, family, friends and voters.
a person is casting a vote into a box by Element5 Digital is licensed under Unsplash unsplash.com

Other Articles

California public school enrollment continues decline, still reeling from pandemic plunge
Enrollment at California public schools has continued to decline this academic year, without any recovery from the steep drops seen during the pandemic — although the pace of the decrease has slowed.
Read More
School choice doubles proficiency rates in minority, low-income Philadelphia students
Philadelphia students who receive school choice scholarships are twice as likely to be proficient in reading and math, a new report reveals.
Read More
'It's hard to say': California superintendent won't condemn school closures despite dismal test scores
California's highest-ranking education official won't say he regrets how long the state relied on remote learning during the pandemic, despite less than half of students statewide currently reading and performing math at grade level.
Read More
Most teachers are too busy to be culture warriors
A few days ago, I attended my last back-to-school night at our local public middle school. That real-world experience offered a dramatic contrast to the perpetual online brawling today between irate parents, irate teachers and irate politicians over education.
Read More
Students and teachers push to reduce U.S. school emissions
About 50 school districts around the United States are pushing for school retrofits and to prepare students for green jobs
Read More
How the Children's Educational Opportunity Act Works
With the Children's Educational Opportunity Act (CEO Act) parents, not bureaucrats or central planners, should choose their child's education.
Read More
SB 292:Is California Ready For School Choice?
California Policy Center (CPC) is proud to announce that we are sponsoring the new ESA bill introduced by state Senator Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield).
Read More
Commentary: California should mandate climate change education now
We see signs of climate change’s devastating impact all over Orange County — in rising sea levels in our coastal cities, such as in Seal Beach and Newport Beach; wildfires in Laguna Niguel and Silverado Canyon; coastal erosion in San Clemente, where train service has been repeatedly suspended; and the collapsing hillside under Casa Romantica Cultural Center and Gardens.
Read More

Get latest news delivered daily!

We will send you breaking news right to your inbox

© 2025 educationopportunity.org, Privacy Policy | FPPC #1460602