A proposed bill would require Florida high school students to take a personal financial literacy course before graduating.
"In light of economic challenges nationwide, sound financial management skills are vitally important to all Floridians, particularly high school students," Florida Senate Bill 114 reads in part.
If passed the bill, also called the Dorothy L. 4 Hukill Financial Literacy Act, would make Florida the sixth state to require a stand-alone financial class.
The bill would require the class to include instruction on:
- Types of bank accounts offered, opening and managing a bank account, and assessing the quality of a depository institution’s services
- Balancing a checkbook
- Basic principles of money management, such as spending, credit, credit scores, and managing debt, including retail and credit card debt
- Completing a loan application
- Receiving an inheritance and related implications
- Basic principles of personal insurance policies
- Computing federal income taxes
- Local tax assessments
- Computing interest rates by various mechanisms
- Simple contracts
- Contesting an incorrect billing statement
- Types of savings and investments
- State and federal laws concerning finance
If it passes, the bill would go into effect July 1, 2019.
You can read the full bill here.
