Tim Ranzetta and the California Personal Finance Education Initiative

CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Nationwide, over half of all high school students are required to take a course on personal finance to graduate. In California, it’s just 1%.

A ballot initiative proposed for the November ballot would change that. The California Personal Finance Education Initiative is a statewide ballot measure that would require “essential personal finance education” for every California high school student. Backers submitted 900,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot in March, and the measure appears poised to be certified by the Secretary of State.

The initiative has strong bipartisan support from the public – a 2022 poll from the Public Polling Institute of California found that 85% of Californians believed that a course in basic finance should be required – and has the endorsement of State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. We are joined by Tim Ranzetta, teacher, entrepreneur and one of the leading proponents of the initiative. We asked him why this measure is necessary, and, how it stacks up against Asm. Kevin McCarty’s similar bills, AB 984 and AB 2927.

Plus: Who Had the Worst Week in CA Politics?

1:11 why is this initiative needed?

3:07 What are the requirements?

5:06 How will the state pay for this?

7:18 Potential impact on the student loan crisis?

10:14 Other states are way ahead of CA – why haven’t we done this?

11:50 AB 984 and AB 2927

13:18 What motivated you to take this on?

14:31 How receptive are students?

19:01 How to teach kids from vastly different economic backgrounds

21:32 #WWCA