ICYMI: Ohio Credit Unions Highlight Educational, Financial and Community Benefits of Student-Run Credit Unions

In case you missed it, Ohio credit unions across the state are highlighting the benefits of student-run credit unions, which introduce young Ohioans to finances in an easy-to-understand way and provide hands-on opportunities for financial literacy education. 
 
“Students learn the fundamentals of banking: How to open a bank account and manage it, keeping track of deposits and withdrawals, avoiding fraud, maintaining online safety, and using interest to build savings. They also learn about taking out loans, paying bills and building credit…Students get to practice moving the money around, writing each other checks – and making mistakes – in a safe environment,” writes Laura Hancock for Cleveland.com.
 
Earlier this year, Gov. Mike DeWine signed a state budget into law that included a provision that allows schools districts to permit students to participate in student-run credit union branches to meet the financial literacy graduation requirement rather than in-classroom instruction.
 
Under Ohio law, students must complete 60 hours of financial literacy instruction to graduate high school. The requirement aims to help students learn the skills to make good financial decisions.
 
Credit unions’ student run branches are operated by students with minimal oversight from credit union staff. By giving students a hands-on opportunity to learn about finances and how to run a business, Ohio credit unions are helping set the next generation of young Ohioans up for financial success.
 
Read more below:
 
Cleveland.com: Budding entrepreneurs: High school finance lessons blossom for brothers into business success
Laura Hancock
Nov. 30, 2025
 
·       Derek and Dominik Zirkle thought the high school financial literacy class they took seven years ago was kind of lame in the beginning.
 
·       Then something clicked.
 
·       Today, the 24-year-olds apply the principles taught by the credit union in D & D Meadery. And, they used the credit union for assistance in growing their honey wine business, which they opened in 2024.
 
·       A change included in legislation for the state budget permits public and private schools that house branches of a credit union or a bank to give students earn credit toward their financial literacy graduation requirement for working in those outlets.
 
·       Technically, the student branch provisions in the state’s two-year budget went into effect Sept. 30, but there have been branches in some high schools for more than 10 years, giving students a chance to learn the ins and outs of finance.
 
·       Mentor-based Cardinal Credit Union opened its first student branch in 2012. Today it has sites at at Mentor, Willoughby South and Eastlake North high schools, as well as at Lake Catholic in Mentor and Notre Dame Cathedral Latin in Chardon.
 
·       Alongside the student branches, Cardinal and another Northeast Ohio institution, Theory Federal Credit Union based in Painesville, have for some time offered financial literacy curricula to high school students, taught by credit union employees.
 
·       Students learn the fundamentals of banking: How to open a bank account and manage it, keeping track of deposits and withdrawals, avoiding fraud, maintaining online safety, and using interest to build savings. They also learn about taking out loans, paying bills and building credit.
 
·       The Zirkles applied the foundations they learned to building their business, D & D Meadery. They now distribute honey wine to over 300 retail locations.
 
·       They started the business with their savings. They’ve lived leanly, investing profits back into the company. They sought help from a Theory certified financial counselor who had visited their class in high school.
 
·       “As far as loans for the business, that is what we’ve done so far, which is still a big deal,” he said. “We’ve definitely come a long way from class, but for sure it started from there.”
 
Dayton Daily News: Student-run credit unions unlock financial know-how, advocates say
Tom Gnau
Sept. 22, 2025
 
·       When it came to learning about finances, Dariya Dzhavriyeva wanted to move beyond textbooks.
 
·       A 2025 Stebbins High School graduate and Wright State University freshman studying finance, Dzhavriyeva said working with CODE Credit Union helped make that happen.
 
·       “I honestly learned how much financial literacy matters,” she said.
 
·       This year, Gov. Mike DeWine signed a state budget into law that features a provision that lets school districts permit students to participate in student-run credit union or bank branches to meet a financial literacy graduation requirement in lieu of classroom instruction.
 
·       Abbey Credit Union, Inc., CODE Credit Union and Day Air Credit Union all had representatives sing the program’s praises at Day Air Ballpark Monday.
 
·       Dzhavriyeva said she learned about using checking and savings accounts, the distinctions between a traditional Individual Retirement Account and a Roth IRA, dealing with peers professionally and the all-important discipline of spending less than you earn.
 
·       “For the students who have part-time jobs, taking a percentage of your paycheck and putting into a savings account — I learned a lot of things that I didn’t know would benefit me so much in the future," she said.
 
Mercer County Outlook: As Students Head Back to School, Miami Valley Credit Unions Celebrate State Budget Win for Student-Run Credit Unions
Sept. 22, 2025
 
·       As Ohio students return to school, Miami Valley credit unions Abbey Credit Union, Inc., CODE Credit Union, and Day Air Credit Union recently hosted a press conference with local educators and students to highlight an important win in the recently-passed state budget.
 
·       Gov. Mike DeWine signed a state budget into law that included a provision that allows schools districts to permit students to participate in student-run credit union branches to meet the financial literacy graduation requirement rather than in-classroom instruction.
 
·       By giving students a hands-on opportunity to learn about finances and how to run a business, Ohio credit unions are helping set the next generation of young Ohioans up for financial success.
  
·       The student-run credit union system is part of Miami Valley credit unions’ ongoing commitment to serving the community and providing meaningful financial education.

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