This story could have panned out more to show us how this statewide requirement could influence other state school systems, or tell us if any similar programs are in place elsewhere. The one piece of information from the national level (on credit card solicitation) comes from PIRG, which is notorious for botching stats. Altogether, though, this is a fine local story with appropriate sourcing.

This local news story provides the elements of good journalism in a short report. It provides information that I didn't know about the lack of financial literacy education offered in public schools (at least in Maryland). It leads me to wonder how this is addressed in other states. It would be interesting to see if there is a correlation between a lack of public school personal finance education and personal bankruptcies (or successes) in various localities.

Though this story is a local one, it's one that resonates across the country.