Agency helping to integrate tax information into new high school course
The Department of Taxation and other state agencies have been working with the Virginia Council on Economic Education to provide teachers with curriculum resources and professional development for a new Standards of Learning course designed to equip students with basic economic and financial literacy.
Beginning in the fall of 2011, incoming high school freshmen must earn a credit in the new Economics and Personal Finance SOL in order to graduate. This will help them to eventually become better employees, consumers, savers, investors, entrepreneurs and active citizens.
After the Tax Department (TAX) expressed interest in being involved, it was asked by VCEE to review and provide comments on the new SOL. Once the SOL was approved by the Board of Education, VCEE asked TAX and other groups to develop and teach lessons to groups of teachers in Northern Virginia, Tidewater and Richmond as part of weeklong Personal Finance Institutes this summer. TAX’s lesson focused on helping teachers understand where tax revenue comes from and how it is used at the federal, state and local levels; the different types of taxes; tax structure; and tax exemptions, deductions and credits.
Sarah Finley, executive director of VCEE, which is leading the professional development efforts for the new SOL, said the Tax Department (TAX) has “played a very helpful part, particularly with respect to the portion of the new SOL that relates to taxes. We’ve had a good back and forth to provide information that the teachers and students need to know about but would not have had access to otherwise.”
Other agencies and organizations helping with this effort include the Department of Consumer Services, the Bureau of Insurance, the Virginia Bankers Association, and certified financial planners. Funding support has come from the private sector, particularly the financial services industry, so teachers can take the courses at minimal expense.
“This cooperative effort should pay big dividends for Virginia students and better prepare them for the complex world they face after graduation,” said Acting Tax Commissioner Craig Burns.
Finley said VCEE plans to continue the Personal Finance Institutes for another four years to assist as many teachers as possible in learning the components of the new SOL.