KENNEWICK, Wash.- A Southridge High School Senior advocates for financial literacy education in all High Schools
Ashwin Joshi is a senior at Southridge High School who is working to make financial literacy tools more accessible.
in 2020 Joshi founded the Ashwin Teen Financial Academy. A nonprofit that creates online and in-person courses to teach teens about financial literacy.
Joshi says that his parents helped fuel his passion for finance because money and investing were always topics of discussion.
Beginning at a young age Joshi noticed that his peers were not being exposed to money and finance in the same way. And when signing up for High School classes he noticed that there was no option to take a financial literacy class.
This is when Joshi decided to take things into his own hands by starting AFTA. The Academy offers free online courses teaching teens about everything from basic budgeting to building credit and navigating the stock market.
“It’s a fundamental right, not a privilege.” Said Joshi.
Joshi then got the opportunity to work with Representative Skyler Rude to create legislation that would require financial literacy courses in all High Schools.
“We learn everything from science, to English, to math but I found it very odd that we weren’t learning this critical skill. every single one of us deals with money on a daily basis” Said Ashwin Joshi
The Bill was first introduced on Jan 8, 2024. On January 15th a public hearing was held in the house committee where Joshi presented his support for the bill.
Then on Feb. 8, the bill was unanimously passed during a regular session.
On Feb. 29, the Senate passed an amended version of the bill.
According to the bill by the 2027/2028 school year financial literacy courses will be offered in all High Schools in Washington.
