Finance
Ohio lawmakers connect financial literacy, hands-on bank work: 5 takeaways
COLUMBUS, Ohio — A recent change in state law now permits high school students in Ohio who work in school credit union or bank branches to receive academic credit toward their required financial literacy graduation course, highlighting the state’s expanding focus on practical money management skills for young adults.
The legislative change, included in the state budget that passed in June, supports a growing national trend recognizing the importance of financial education. Some credit unions have been running public and private school branches for years.
READ MORE: Budding entrepreneurs: High school finance lessons blossom for brothers into business success
Ohio is one of 30 states that now requires a semester-long financial literacy class for high school graduation, a requirement that took effect three years ago.
This push toward mandatory financial education reflects a national rise from only 9% of high school students receiving such instruction in 2017 to 73% today, according to the National Endowment for Financial Education.
READ MORE: Financial literacy now required in 30 states, including Ohio, for high school graduation
The following are five key takeaways from the focus on financial literacy and the recent legislative change in Ohio:
1. State law now grants credit for in-school banking work
The state budget passed in June permits high school students who work in school-based branches of banks or credit unions to earn credit toward their mandatory financial literacy graduation requirement. The Ohio Credit Union League is working with officials at the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce to figure out what that policy will look like.
2. Financial education is new and part of a national trend
Ohio’s mandate for a semester-long financial literacy course is new, beginning with students who entered high school in the summer of 2022. This aligns with a significant national increase in required financial education, driven by recognition that students need a baseline knowledge—covering topics like budgeting, debt, credit and fraud—to navigate complex financial choices after graduation.
3. Credit unions lead practical instruction and branch operations
Northeast Ohio institutions, including Cardinal Credit Union and Theory Federal Credit Union, have been operating in-school branches and providing financial literacy curriculum to students for years. Students who volunteer at these branches gain practical experience by performing basic banking activities such as making deposits, withdrawing funds and processing loan payments. Cardinal Credit Union, for example, operates five high school branches.
4. Safe practice environment promotes learning through mistakes
To enhance learning, some credit unions deposit small amounts of money in student accounts, allowing them to practice managing funds, writing checks, and making transactions in a safe, low-stakes environment. Michael DeSantis, educational finance coordinator for Cardinal Credit Union, noted that this allows students to “afford to make minor mistakes” as part of the learning process.
5. Foundational knowledge has already spurred entrepreneurial success
Former students who took these financial literacy courses have cited the instruction as foundational to their later success. Derek and Dominik Zirkle, 24-year-old twins who took a Theory Federal Credit Union course at Madison High School, used the financial principles to launch their honey wine business, D & D Meadery, in 2024. The business now distributes to more than 300 retail locations, and the twins credit the class with giving them the “foundations to begin the journey.”
Finance
Low-income Chinese girl aces gaokao, inspires live-streamers offering help
A girl from a disadvantaged rural family in central China topped this year’s gaokao, attracting numerous live-streamers eager to finance her education, which she declined.
The home of 18-year-old secondary school graduate Han Yaping in a Henan province village was recently bustling with live-streamers.
This attention came after Han achieved an impressive score of 699 out of 750 in the gaokao, China’s national college entrance exam.
She has received offers from China’s two leading universities, Tsinghua University and Peking University.
Han’s accomplishment is particularly remarkable given her family’s impoverished circumstances.
Her mother suffers from ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory arthritis affecting the spine, preventing her from working. Her father, who earns a living through farming and odd jobs, serves as the family’s sole provider. Han also has a younger sister.
Finance
UK financial regulator publishes landmark AI review
The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published a landmark review on Monday that proposes recommendations to regulate the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on the financial decisions made by consumers.
The review, titled the Mills Review, anticipates that both consumers and firms will start delegating “more financial decision-making to AI systems,” including for agreements, initiating transactions, and executing decisions “within agreed parameters.” One of the key findings of the review outlined that while AI can help bridge advice gaps and “support growth,” there remain risks “associated with fraud, cyber security, and consumer harm.” Conducting the review, Sheldon Mills highlighted that “AI can also amplify risks: bias, discrimination, exclusion, opaque decision-making (particularly when multiple AI models interact), misleading or hallucinatory advice and erosion of consumer trust.”
The review stated that presently, one in five adults in the UK are “already open to AI making decisions for them,” particularly when decisions feel “complex or high stakes.” It found that roughly 26 percent of the population “trust general-purpose tools such as ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini for financial advice” with little awareness that such platforms provide no “formal routes to recourse” or protections.
Overall, the Mills Review identified four areas that it anticipates will be impacted by AI in the financial sector: “the transformation of firms,” “new consumer journeys,” “a reshaped competition landscape,” and “amplified financial crime and cyber risk.” The FCA projected the shift in how consumers and firms consult AI to take place by 2030.
The Mills Review put forth seven “priority” recommendations to be considered by the FCA Board. It recommended that any transitions to autonomous AI models be monitored and that regulatory frameworks and perimeters be adapted and secured. The review called for the strengthening of “system-wide coordination and oversight,” the scaling up of the FCA’s AI Lab to enable it to support AI models and innovation for agentic finance, and an “AI-enabled agentic supervisory model” to be built and adopted. Finally, it recommended that a trusted “public-interest AI-enabled financial capability service” be developed.
The FCA announced, in the press release, that it will launch an AI “good and poor practice publication” in late 2026.
Finance
Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education approves audit contract, new finance director position
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – The Fayette County Public Schools Board of Education approved a one-year audit contract capped at $131,750 plus $225 per hour during a virtual meeting Monday, along with a new finance director job description.
The contract is with Mauldin & Jenkins Certified Public Accountants, an Atlanta-based firm, and covers the 2025-26 fiscal year and the restatement of the 2024-25 fiscal year and ancillary services through FY 2029-2030. The work is set to be completed by Nov. 15.
The board approved the contract in a 5-0 vote.
Audit contract details
Interim Chief Financial Officer Kyna Koch said the cost is already accounted for in the district’s budget.
“And is actually less than we expected given our current situation — we were thrilled with the bid,” Koch said.
Koch said she believes this is Mauldin & Jenkins’ first school district audit in Kentucky, but that the firm works with school districts of more than 100,000 students throughout the Southeast.
“Quite frankly when I spoke to the folks at KDE they were thrilled because we’re running kind of short of auditors who want to do school district audits — so all around I think this was a win-win for everyone,” Koch said.
New finance director position
The board also approved a new job description for the position of Director of Finance. Acting Superintendent Dr. Bill Bradford said the title will replace two associate director positions.
“Which will not only save the school district money but it’s also going to streamline our work and align internal controls to make room for a more efficient unit,” Bradford said.
Koch said the position will be posted as soon as possible following the board’s approval.
Closed session
The board went into closed session for more than an hour to discuss pending investigations that could lead to employee discipline. When the board returned, it took no action and adjourned the meeting.
Copyright 2026 WKYT. All rights reserved.
-
New Hampshire2 minutes agoDozens Arrested During Fourth Of July Holiday Weekend Enforcement: New Hampshire State Police Roundup
-
New Jersey5 minutes agoWater rescue in the ocean off Wildwood, New Jersey caught on video
-
New Mexico10 minutes agoWhat will it take to get the Rio Grande flowing again?
-
North Carolina17 minutes agoNorth Carolina man accused of shooting and killing another tourist inside of a Broward Airbnb, police say
-
North Dakota20 minutes agoGov. Armstrong seeks federal disaster declaration after storms cause $4.6M in damage across North Dakota
-
Ohio25 minutes agoSiders’ Ohio house of horrors: locals react to ‘den of evil’
-
Oklahoma32 minutes agoNCAA Not Done with Kashie Natt, Oklahoma State After Legal Ruling
-
Oregon35 minutes agoA Song Gives a Look Into Oregon’s Largest Juvenile Corrections Facility