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School Districts Receive Guidance For New Personal Financial Education Classes

There are many opportunities to enhance financial awareness among students, opening diverse pathways for educators to help shape their secure financial futures.

To assist districts and educators in implementing the standards developed under Senate Bill 3 (2023), the Oregon Department of Education is developing tools to support the selection of instructional materials and guidance about how to approach each standard under the state’s new personal finance requirements.

For example, lessons need to be timely: “Materials should focus on relevant topics, provide authentic contexts and experiences, and give students the opportunity to make connections with their goals, interests, and values.”

Under the new law, students will need to earn 0.5 credit in Personal Financial Education starting with the graduating class of 2027, although districts can also seek a one-year delay if they lack staffing.

To help districts as they ramp up to teach the classes, the Oregon Department of Education led conversations to help delineate the overarching topic areas within the standards. Those are:

• Credit and Debt;

• Banking, Investing, Savings and Repayment;

• Budgeting, Spending and Money Management;

• Personal Income, Taxes and Services; and

• Maintaining Financial Wellbeing

The new criteria supports district-level procurement of comprehensive and high-quality teaching materials that address the topics within the standards, Department of Education officials said. The information will be available by March 31 through the Oregon’s Newest Diploma Requirements webpage.

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April 29 Meeting Will Recognize Financial Empowerment Awardees

To help Oregonians statewide, the Financial Empowerment Advisory Team is a public-private partnership that brings together representatives of nonprofits, academic institutions, financial-focused industry, and state agencies.

Led by State Treasurer Elizabeth Steiner, Oregon’s constitutional financial officer, this state-level committee is focused on the financial wellness universe, financial literacy, financial inclusion and economic justice.

The next quarterly meeting will be held on April 29 and will include the announcement of this year’s Financial Empowerment Award honorees. Meetings are open to the public.

The goals set by the Team are:

• Augment and amplify existing financial wellness efforts statewide;

• Raise visibility of financial wellness and personal finance education;

• Enhance equity and racial equity in financial education;

• Improve accessibility for all Oregonians;

• Leverage partnerships;

• Help the State Treasurer identify issues and advance public policy; and

• Measure progress and identify benchmarks.

An example of a strategy that helps achieve these goals, the Team recommended the formation of the 211info Financial Wellness public information portal and continues advancing that work in an advisory capacity. If you represent an organization that offers financial counseling or other services, you are encouraged to list your business for free in this important Oregon resource.

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Lane County At-Risk Teens Get A Financial Learning Boost

Your progress on the lifelong path toward financial security can be determined by how – and where -- you start.

Near downtown Eugene, a nonprofit transitional living complex that’s run by Springfield-based nonprofit DevNW is giving a fresh start to 24 young adults who come from foster homes and unstable housing situations in Lane County. And, as part of that program, the building residents, as well as other youths, capitalize on financial-focused counseling and assisted savings programs as they move toward their own stable living situations.

One example of the financial teaching: Participants learn the importance of credit scores as part of their application journeys toward rental housing, said Youth Asset Building Specialist Abby James, who leads financial education classes and offers one-on-one paycheck coaching—while also understanding it can be a traumatic topic.

“There is a lot going on for folks in a transitional housing situation, and talking about money and credit has the potential to be triggering or high stress,” she said. “Overwhelm is a real thing, when it comes to working with money.”

At the same time, the need for financial confidence can’t be ignored, especially when young adults don’t learn about personal finance in school, she said.

To help spur engagement, the program offers teens access to credit building loans, and the ability to match their personal savings through a Youth Individual Development Account.

For more information about the Lane County program, call 541-345-7106 or contact via email at hello@devnw.org.

Oregon Classes Invited To Compete In Personal Finance Challenge

The Personal Finance Challenge competition is available through the National Council on Economic Education. The competition is free.

The Personal Finance Challenge offers high school students the opportunity to showcase (and supplement) their knowledge in personal finance and demonstrate their money management skills in six knowledge areas: earning income, spending, saving, investing, managing credit, and managing risk.

Are you an educator? Visit the council for more information and to register.

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Oregon Encourages Young People To File Taxes – And Maybe Qualify For Refunds

Tax time is here – and for many young people in Oregon, it could also be refund time.

A state pilot program at several high schools in 2024 found that students who completed their tax returns could expect refunds of between $95 and $1,246, according to the Oregon Department of Human Services. Based on those findings, the agency is urging young Oregonians to file in 2025.

“The high school pilot really opened our eyes as to the need for this help. Many students didn’t even know they could file,” said Meg Reinhold, an attorney and the Tax Infrastructure Program Coordinator at the agency.

Students met after school and prepared their own tax returns using IRS-approved software. A teacher-facilitator helped them access the software on the IRS website and answered questions.

No matter how old someone is, finding ways to file a tax return for free is easy. The Oregon Department of Revenue’s website lists many ways to file for free or to get free help.

Do You Help People Experiencing Disabilities? Treasury Beginning Ramp-Up Toward Expansion Of ABLE Act

It’s been a decade since the federal Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act passed, paving the way for Oregon to launch the Oregon ABLE and National ABLE for ALL Savings Plans in 2016. These state-run plans were designed to empower people with disabilities to save money, while not jeopardizing their eligibility for asset-limited benefits like Supplemental Security Income (SSI).

Presently, people whose disability was diagnosed before the age of 26 are eligible to open an Oregon ABLE Savings Plan account.

In 2026, the number of people who are eligible will expand substantially, as that “age of onset” for a disability will rise to 46. To prepare for this expansion, and with the imperative to reach an estimated 60,000 Oregonians who will be newly eligible, the state is connecting with healthcare, financial and other organizations that provide services to adults experiencing disabilities.

Please contact the Oregon ABLE Savings Plan at Oregon.ABLE@ost.state.or.us to receive news, and to help spread the word.

Oregon Taxpayer complaints and resolutions climbed in 2023-24

Oregon’s taxpayer advocate was created to help filers get questions answered and to help resolve complaints. A new biennial report shows the office is accomplishing both goals.

The office found that complaints were most often due to processing refunds. In several instances, complaints were due to slow response times by the Oregon Department of Revenue, which manages the state’s tax collection process.

In 2023 and 2024, the advocate fielded 2,182 inquiries. About a quarter of those were deemed worthy of investigation. Most of those were resolved, and several resulted in improvements at the agency, such as customer service upgrades.

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• For financial wellness perspective that’s worth a listen, tune in to the Oregon-produced Money Jar podcast. The show is one of the programs of Junior Achievement of Oregon and Southwest Washington.

• Oregon Division of Financial Regulation consumer advocates recovered almost $9 million for Oregonians in 2024, including nearly $2 million in the fourth quarter. In addition, the department has created education resources to help Oregonians protect themselves against relationship investment scams.

• To help Oregonians file taxes for free, the Oregon Department of Human Services is making grants to community organizations such as universities. Learn more at the ODHS Tax Infrastructure Grant Program website; and in Spanish.

• It’s almost Tax Day: Did you know you can receive a tax credit worth as much as $180 per year (and $360 for those filing jointly) for saving for higher education or disability-connected costs? Learn more from the Oregon College Savings Plan and Oregon ABLE Savings Plan.

• The Foundation for Financial Planning helps to connect nonprofits to pro bono financial planners, to assist at-risk people who otherwise couldn’t afford it.

• New Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield takes aim at fraud.

• The U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced the most frequent reported scams for 2024. Even though the number of fraud reports is roughly the same as last year, more people lost a lot more money, the agency said. The most frequent category: Imposter scams.

• The Oregon Tribal Student Grant application for the 2025-26 academic year opened on Feb. 26. The grant is intended to cover the average cost of attendance after all federal and state grants/scholarships have been applied.

• The federal REAL ID deadline is just over two months away. A REAL ID is a state-issued driver’s license, instruction permit or ID card that meets federal security requirements set by the REAL ID Act of 2005.

• The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta has created a suite of financial wellness tools that help people think about earning potential. Called the Career Ladder Identifier and Financial Forecaster (CLIFF) the site models the interaction of public benefits, taxes, and tax credits with career advancement. Each tool is tailored to meet a client’s needs in different career stages.

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Date	Event
March 27	Relationship Scams & Cryptocurrency Fraud Prevention, 10 a.m., registration required, AARP Oregon, Virtual class
April 1	Financial Capability Month begins
April 3	One-on-one with a Financial Advisor, 11 a.m., reservations needed, Oregon City Public Library
April 4	Free Tax help, 2 p.m., appointments are full – walk-in service available, Gresham Library, CAHS Oregon
April 5	Youth Financial Foundations, 9 a.m., DevNW, Virtual class.
April 12	Fraud Fighter Summit & Expo, 9:30 am, Smullin Health Education Center, Medford, AARP Oregon
April 12	File Taxes for Free / Khai thuế miễn phí / 免费辅助报税, individualized tax preparation assistance in Vietnamese, Cantonese and English, 11 a.m., Midland Library, Vietnamese Community of Oregon (VNCO)
April 14	Homebuyer Education Workshop, 5:30 p.m., NeighborImpact Homesource, virtual class.
April 16	Student Debt Webinar, 5:30 p.m., DevNW, Virtual class.
April 17	Hands-on Banking, 6 p.m., Community Action, Virtual class.
April 17	Unlocking homeownership – 12 p.m., Financial Beginnings, webinar.
April 22	Supporting the Financial Wellbeing of Immigrant and Refugee Communities, 10 a.m., Washington Financial Empowerment Network, Northwest webinar.
April 26	Fraud Fighter Summit & Expo, 9:30 am, Bob Keefer Center, Springfield, AARP Oregon
April 29	Public meeting: Financial Empowerment Advisory Team, 2 p.m., Oregon State Treasury, Virtual meeting
April 29	Free Virtual College Planning Night, 6 p.m. Registration required. College Place/ECMC, Virtual meeting.
April 30	Successful Beginnings, 5:30 p.m., NeighborImpact Homesource, Zoom class.
May 7	Aging Well Expo, Beaverton, AARP Oregon (registration opens in April)
May 7	Money on the Mind (four class series), 5:30 p.m., Prineville, NeighborImpact Homesource
May 15	Building, Repairing, & Protecting Credit, 6 p.m., Community Action, Virtual class.
May 17	Financial Foundations, 9 a.m., Salem, DevNW.
June 2	Application deadline: Oregon Student Child Care Grant
June 12	Retirement 101, 6 p.m., Community Action, Virtual class.
June 19	Juneteenth Celebration at MESO Makers Market, 11 a.m., MicroEnterprise Services of Oregon, 376 NE Sumner Rd., Portland.
Aug 5	Public meeting: Financial Empowerment Advisory Team, 2 p.m., Oregon State Treasury, Tigard

Please let us know if you have financial-focused events to list in the statewide calendar.