Senate Bill S8460

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S8460

SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the education law, in relation to
requiring secondary school students to complete a financial literacy and
personal finances course

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

Provides that juniors and seniors at secondary schools must take a
financial literacy and personal finances course or be given course mate-
rials in other already existing classes to better prepare themselves to
prudently manage their finances in the future. Such information can be
incorporated in already existing classes to reduce any burden placed on
requiring additional mandates on the school day.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

,Section 1. Education Law Section 305 is amended by adding a new subdi-
vision 55 to authorize the Commissioner of Education to develop a course
or courses in financial literacy and personal finances. Such course in
              

financial literacy can be completed by juniors or seniors in secondary
schools. The course can include, but need not be limited to, instruction
on obtaining and using checking, debit and savings accounts, understand-
ing the use of credit and credit cards for both large and small
purchases, investing, saving, and planning for retirement. In addition,
the instruction of financial literacy, if not offered in one class,
could be offered in an integrated manner in other already existing
course work to minimize any burdens placed on adding additional required
course work during the school day. This amendment made in 2016 was done
to conform to Chapter Laws that were enacted in 2015.

Section 2: Effective Date

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In certain instances, the lack of financial literacy and a working know-
ledge about personal finances may lead many unsuspecting individuals to
enter into home or condo purchases, auto loans, mortgages, other finan-
cial arrangements, or to select investments or retirement plans that
they were later to regret. The purpose of this bill is to increase the
financial literacy of our students and to give them a better base of
information to prudently manage their financial affairs and to save for
the future for themselves and their families.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2010  S.6345 Referred to Education/A.5506 Referred to Education
2012  S.1525 Referred to Education/A.9802(Heastie)Referred to Education
2014  S.3040 Referred to Education/A.4142 Referred to Education
2015-16 A.9238 Referred to Education / S.2899-A Referred to Education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect September 1 the year after it shall have
become law.