[Your Name] [Address] [City, State Zip Code] [Date] The Honorable [Insert Representatives Name] [Address] [City,

State Zip Code] Dear Representative [Last Name of Representative:] As a recent graduate of a public [Insert your state, i.e. Pennsylvania] High School, I feel that my education left me unprepared to make sound financial decisions. In light of the recent recession, I believe that it is essential for American citizens to be able to understand and apply personal financial knowledge. Compulsory financial education in primary and secondary schools is the best solution to this problem. On its website, the Pennsylvania Department of Education claims, The Pennsylvania Department of Education is committed to having every student in Pennsylvania graduate as an active and engaged citizen with knowledge and skills to be gainfully employed and make intelligent financial decisions for the future of Pennsylvania and the nation. However, students in Pennsylvania are not currently required to take any classes in personal finance. I am writing to ask you to consider sponsoring a bill that solidifies the beliefs already expressed by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Personal financial literacy education should be introduced in the third grade, as students refine their basic math skills and are introduced to the concept of good citizenry. By introducing topics such as budgeting, saving, and balancing a checkbook from the beginning of a students education, teachers can play a large role in setting their students up for successful financial futures. In addition, requiring students to take one personal finance class in their junior year of high school which would reiterate the concepts learned throughout elementary and middle school and place an emphasis on student loans as the juniors prepare for college. The goal of education is to equip young people with the necessary tools to succeed as adults and be productive members of society. By supporting a bill that requires financial education in public schools, you could not only have a hand in providing young people the potential for a comfortable financial future, but you would also be helping the states economy to grow. Compulsory financial education has proved successful in states where a law like the one I am proposing is already in place. In fact, a 2011 study by the Arizona Pathways for Life Success for University Students found that high school and college students who are exposed to ongoing or cumulative financial education showed an increase in financial knowledge, which drives responsible financial behavior as they become young adults. Pennsylvania students deserve to be able to understand the increasingly complex world of finance, and education is the best method to provide them with that knowledge. We have the opportunity to improve education in Pennsylvania, and in turn give students the knowledge to have a comfortable financial future. Thank you for your time in considering this issue, and I hope you agree that compulsory financial education would better the state of Pennsylvania. Most Sincerely,

[Your Name]