Middle-schoolers in New Jersey will soon be required to take crash courses — or would it be cash courses? — in how to manage finances.

Acting Gov. Sheila Oliver signed a law Thursday that mandates the state Board of Education include financial literacy instruction in the curriculum for sixth- through eighth-grade students in public schools across the Garden State.

The lessons will begin in the next school year, which starts in September.

“Financial responsibility is an important acquired and learned life skill and with the increasing financial challenges millennials face, it is a skill that must be a necessary part of our educational curriculum," said Oliver, who signed the measure during a ceremony in Jersey City.

Oliver, the state’s lieutenant governor, was acting as governor because Gov. Phil Murphy, a fellow Democrat, was in Washington, D.C.

New Jersey’s state academic standards already require middle schools to teach students about certain aspects of financial literacy, such as the relationship between career choice and income and how the demand for certain skills determines an individual’s earning power. Middle school students are also supposed to learn about taxes.

A state task force charged with studying the cost of college and student debt in New Jersey previously recommended that students learn more about financial literacy before they get to college.

The new law (A1414) says the lessons should provide students with knowledge to make “sound financial decision-making," with content on budgeting, savings, credit, debt, insurance, investment, and more.

The law — sponsored by both Democratic and Republican lawmakers — easily passed both houses of the Democrat-controlled state Legislature last month. The state Senate passed it, 38-0, and the Assembly, 78-1.

“We must reach people early on in life so they can plan ahead and build a foundation of financial knowledge that will help them live an independent lifestyle," said state Sen. Dawn Marie Addiego, R-Burlington, one of the sponsors.

Assemblywoman Angela McKnight, D-Hudson, another sponsor, said “one of the most important lessons a person can learn is how to manage their money.”

"Many young people go into adulthood knowing little about finances, and end up making decisions that cost them in the long run,” McKnight added.

NJ Advance Media staff writer Adam Clark contributed to this report.

Brent Johnson may be reached at bjohnson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @johnsb01. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.