DPI Has Issues With Personal Finance Mandate

6/26/17 – The state Department of Public Instruction says it has problems with a bill to make schools teach personal finance. The Assembly approved the measure on a voice vote last week, and the Senate is expected to take up a similar bill this fall. About three-fourths of the state’s 424 public school districts offer some kind of financial lessons, so future adults don’t make the same mistakes as many Baby Boomers — like letting credit get out of control or not saving enough for retirement. But D-P-I spokesman Tom McCarthy says state mandates are not the best way to increase financial literacy — and his agency is working with schools to build what he calls “robust” programs. The bill lets schools use model programs from the Wisconsin Bankers Association and other groups — and Dan Rossmiller of the state School Boards Association says it does not have to be as expensive or specific as other unfunded mandates that lawmakers put on schools.