BILL NUMBER: S5827

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 Subdivi-
              

sion 57 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. ò

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

2011-12 S.1525 Referred to Education/A.9802 (Heastie) Referred to Educa-
tion

2013-14 S.3040 Referred to Education/A.4142 Referred tO Education

2015-16 A.9238 Referred to Education/S.2899-A Referred to Education

2017-18 S.8460 Referred to Education/S.4620 Referred to Education

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

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5827A

SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to requiring senior high
schools to provide a course in financial literacy and requiring students
to complete such course as a condition of graduation

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To require high school students to take a pass a pass/fail course on
financial literacy as a requirement for graduation.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends the Education Law by adding a new section 802-b that
directs the Commissioner of Education to provide and proscribe a course
on financial literacy for high school seniors. The course will be taught
on a pass or fail basis and shall not affect the student's grade point
average.

              

School authorities shall provide the needed facilities, times and place
for instruction and shall provide learning aids and curriculum resource
materials.

Students with a disability as defined in section 4401 of the Education
Law shall not be required to complete such course for graduation if it
is not specifically included as a requirement in the student's individ-
ual education plan recommended by the school district committee on the
handicapped.

Section 2 sets forth the effective date which is immediately and shall
apply to school years commencing on and after July 1, 2021.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Currently, New York high school students are not required to take a
course in financial literacy in order to graduate. As a result, most
high school graduates are ill-equipped to evaluate and conduct many of
the basic financial transactions they will face in adult life. Drawing
on data provided by the credit agency, Experion, a recent CNBC news
story reported that the average American carries $90,460 in debt. This
staggering figure is attributable to many factors, but financial illi-
teracy is part of the problem-and there's an easy fix. Too many young
people take out loans to pay for college or buy a car or simply accrue
credit card debt without understanding the negative impact these can
have on their long-term financial futures. But it's not their fault, our
educational system neglects practical applications of reading and math,
including how to balance a checkbook, how to understand wages and taxes,
and how read a lease or rental agreement.

Requiring a course in financial literacy can help our young adults avoid
bad choices and risky behavior-the consequences of which often snowball
as they grow older.

This bill would require students to take a pass/fail course on financial
literacy topics including, but not limited to: personal budgeting, wages
and taxes, self-employment, savings and investments (stocks, bonds, and
mutual funds), debt management, checking accounts, credit cards, credit
scores, saving for education and retirement, insurance, rights and obli-
gations as a tenant, basic concepts on borrowing including the purchas-
ing of automobiles and homes, benefits and drawbacks of leasing and/or
purchasing of automobiles, and the benefits and drawbacks of renting
and/or purchasing of a home.

Graduating high school seniors should enter adulthood with a basic
understanding of personal finances. By requiring a class on financial
literacy in public high schools, New York can help ensure that every
student, regardless of their current socioeconomic status, is equipped
to make informed personal financial decisions. This is a small invest-
ment that will yield major dividends in the financial wellbeing of
future generations.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None. New Bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:

Minimal costs for school districts.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to school years
commencing on and after July 1, 2021.