March 20, 2018
Financial literacy bill clears final legislative hurdle
A bill requiring high school students to receive Financial literacy education overwhelming was approved Monday afternoon by the state Senate.
House Bill 132 passed 35-3 and now awaits the signature of Gov. Matt Bevin to become part of the required high school curriculum.
“I believe that this bill will have more impact on the future of the Commonwealth of Kentucky than most of the bills that we have on the floor this year,” state Sen. Dennis Parrett, D-Elizabethtown, said Monday on the Senate floor.
In January, the bill cleared the House by a 68-24 margin. The bill was sponsored by state Rep. Jim DuPlessis, R-Elizabethtown.
“With HB 132, knowledge of personal finance will no longer belong only to the privileged – it will be taught to all,” DuPlessis said Monday afternoon. “Our economy will improve when people manage their money instead of their money managing them.”
The requirement would apply to ninth-grade students starting in the 2020-21 school year and each year after.
DuPlessis amended the bill prior to the January vote after talking with the Kentucky Department of Education. The amendment changed the requirement from a financial literacy course to standards.
Students would have to complete a course or program that meets state financial literacy standards, which will be developed by KDE, according to the amendment.
The decision also will apply to Public charter schools.
Elizabethtown High School teacher Alex Todd has spearheaded the effort and testified in support of the bill. He teaches a financial literacy elective.
The News-Enterprise
