The Commonwealth of
Kentucky’s House of Representatives have recently introduced two bills related
to financial education within high schools. Both of the proposed bills would
add a new section to the Kentucky Revised Statutes regarding the conduct of
schools (KRS 158), and require the creation of the Kentucky Financial Literacy
Program that all high school students would be required to complete before
graduating.
Currently, Kentucky
mandates that some financial education be incorporated into the existing
curriculum, and schools have used a variety of programs to meet this mandate.
Without a uniform program for financial instruction or an established means for
assessing students’ performance, Kentucky has a “C” grade from Champlain
College’s Center for Financial Literacy for our financial education efforts. Fortunately, this newly proposed
legislation provides the opportunity to improve the state’s financial literacy.
Both of these House bills would create a standard program to be used by all
high schools, and might lead Kentucky to a ranking among the top states for
financial education.
The first House bill
introduced was HB 76, which would
require the Department of Education to develop the Kentucky Financial Literacy
Program. This program would then be used to teach a half-credit course that all
11th or 12th grade students would be required to pass
before graduation.
The second House bill
introduced was HB 77, which would
require the Department of Education to develop the Kentucky Financial Literacy
Program. The program would tend to integrated into existing courses that must
be completed before graduation.
The two House bills
sound very similar, but they actually have very different implications. If
passed, HB 76 would create a statute
requiring the creation of a new class. It would be mandatory course worth a
half-credit toward a high school diploma. The course would be taught to 11th
or 12th grade students using the Kentucky Financial Literacy Program.
While HB 77 also would mandate the
creation and teaching of the Kentucky Financial Literacy Program, passing this
bill would not create a new mandatory financial literacy course. Instead, HB 77 would lead to 11th or
12th grade students having a financial literacy unit incorporated
into an existing class. The unit would consist of an equivalent of 12 hours of
financial literacy instruction during the duration of the existing course.
If you are concerned
about financial education in your local schools, feel free to contact your
district’s representative about these House bills. Whether you voice support
for HB 76 or HB 77, it is up to you. Either way, the state legislature should
know that you think that improving financial literacy is important to the
citizens of Kentucky.
READERS, what
do you think?
Which of these House
bills do you think is the best idea? Why?
References:
Pelletier,
J. (2013, Summer). National Report Card
on State Efforts to Improve Financial Literacy in High Schools. The Center
for Financial Literacy. Champlain
College. Retrieved from http://www.champlain.edu/Documents/Centers-of-Excellence/Center-for-Financial-Literacy/Champlain-College-Center-for-Financial-Literacy-State-Report-Card_.pdf.
HB
76. (2014). Kentucky Legislature. 2014 Regular Session. Retrieved from
HB
77. (2014). Kentucky Legislature. 2014 Regular Session. Retrieved from
