Today, The Wall Street Journal has a post about a boarding school in Massachusetts that is attempting to increase financial literacy among students by setting up a classroom as a mock stock market trading floor.

The story notes the need for financial literacy among students — especially in the current economic crisis — and refers to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s many calls for increased financial education in the U.S.

Meanwhile, bills to implement state financial literacy programs have gained traction in both Kansas and New Jersey:

Kansas Governor Mark Parkinson has signed a bill that would require “school districts to put more emphasis on teaching financial issues such as credit card debt, understanding loans, savings and how to start a budget.”

Gov. Parkinson noted:

“We hear a lot of horror stories about kids getting out of high school or college not being able to balance a checkbook or getting into a huge amount of credit card debt,” said Governor Parkinson. “We need to make sure we’re teaching our students what to do and what to avoid.”

And in New Jersey, state lawmakers  are considering legislation that would provide high school seniors with financial literacy courses. The bill has cleared a Senate committee and now awaits consideration by the full state Senate.

Progress like this is a long-overdue development for those states’ high school students. And for all other age groups, it’s never too late or too early to learn money management skills.

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