Students urge Morris School District to require stand‑alone personal finance course

Avi Mehta, co‑founder of the Budget Bridge Foundation, and student speakers urged the Morris School District to require a stand‑alone personal finance course to meet New Jersey's graduation requirement for financial literacy.

“Personal financial literacy is one of the most important topics that one should have in their career,” Mehta said, introducing student speakers. Yuvraj Marothra, a senior who joined the foundation, said the current policy lets courses such as AP economics and entrepreneurship substitute for a dedicated personal finance class, leaving students without practical skills like filing taxes, opening retirement accounts or managing credit-card debt.

“By requiring a true personal finance course, Morristown has the chance to make financial literacy a universal foundation, not an advantage only some students receive,” Marothra said.

Alexander Codio, another student speaker, cited New Jersey’s 2009 policy that established a financial‑literacy graduation requirement and argued local course substitutions undermine the law’s intent. The students asked the board to ensure only a stand‑alone personal finance course satisfies the 2½‑credit requirement.

Dr. Marucci thanked the students for their research and said the curriculum committee would review the materials and follow up. “If you provide the website and social media to me, what we'll do is we actually have members of the curriculum committee here. We'll review the information that you presented, and we'll get back to you,” she said.

The board did not take action; members said they would seek committee review and respond to the students with next steps.