Florida Senate - 2019                                     SB 114
       
       
        
       By Senator Hutson
       
       
       
       
       
       7-00265B-19                                            2019114__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to high school graduation
    3         requirements; designating the act as the “Dorothy L.
    4         Hukill Financial Literacy Act”; amending s. 1003.41,
    5         F.S.; revising the requirements for the Next
    6         Generation Sunshine State Standards to include
    7         financial literacy; amending s. 1003.4282, F.S.;
    8         revising the required credits for a standard high
    9         school diploma to include one-half credit of
   10         instruction in personal financial literacy and money
   11         management and seven and one-half, rather than eight,
   12         credits in electives; providing an effective date.
   13  
   14         WHEREAS, many young people in this state graduate from high
   15  school without having basic financial literacy or money
   16  management skills, and
   17         WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that, in light of economic
   18  challenges nationwide, sound financial management skills are
   19  vitally important to all Floridians, particularly high school
   20  students, and
   21         WHEREAS, the Legislature also finds that requiring
   22  educational instruction in financial literacy and money
   23  management as a prerequisite to high school graduation will
   24  better prepare young people in this state for adulthood by
   25  providing them with the requisite knowledge to achieve financial
   26  stability and independence, and
   27         WHEREAS, Florida is one of 17 states in the nation to
   28  require financial literacy instruction as a prerequisite for
   29  high school graduation and a standard high school diploma, and
   30  the adoption of this act will make it the sixth state in the
   31  nation to require a stand-alone course in personal financial
   32  literacy as a prerequisite for high school graduation and a
   33  standard high school diploma, NOW, THEREFORE,
   34  
   35  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   36  
   37         Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Dorothy L. Hukill
   38  Financial Literacy Act.”
   39         Section 2. Paragraph (d) of subsection (2) of section
   40  1003.41, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraph (f) is
   41  added to that subsection, to read:
   42         1003.41 Next Generation Sunshine State Standards.—
   43         (2) Next Generation Sunshine State Standards must meet the
   44  following requirements:
   45         (d) Social Studies standards must establish specific
   46  curricular content for, at a minimum, geography, United States
   47  and world history, government, civics, humanities, and
   48  economics, including financial literacy. Financial literacy
   49  includes the knowledge, understanding, skills, behaviors,
   50  attitudes, and values that will enable a student to make
   51  responsible and effective financial decisions on a daily basis.
   52  Financial literacy instruction shall be an integral part of
   53  instruction throughout the entire economics course and include
   54  information regarding earning income; buying goods and services;
   55  saving and financial investing; taxes; the use of credit and
   56  credit cards; budgeting and debt management, including student
   57  loans and secured loans; banking and financial services;
   58  planning for one’s financial future, including higher education
   59  and career planning; credit reports and scores; and fraud and
   60  identity theft prevention. The requirements for financial
   61  literacy specified under this paragraph do not apply to students
   62  entering grade 9 in the 2019-2020 school year and thereafter.
   63         (f) Effective for students entering grade 9 in the 2019
   64  2020 school year and thereafter, financial literacy standards
   65  must establish specific curricular content for, at a minimum,
   66  personal financial literacy and money management. Financial
   67  literacy includes instruction in the areas specified in s.
   68  1003.4282(3)(h).
   69         Section 3. Paragraphs (d) and (g) of subsection (3) of
   70  section 1003.4282, Florida Statutes, are amended, and paragraph
   71  (h) is added to that subsection, to read:
   72         1003.4282 Requirements for a standard high school diploma.—
   73         (3) STANDARD HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA; COURSE AND ASSESSMENT
   74  REQUIREMENTS.—
   75         (d) Three credits in social studies.—A student must earn
   76  one credit in United States History; one credit in World
   77  History; one-half credit in economics, which must include
   78  financial literacy; and one-half credit in United States
   79  Government. The United States History EOC assessment constitutes
   80  30 percent of the student’s final course grade. However, for a
   81  student entering grade 9 in the 2019-2020 school year or
   82  thereafter, financial literacy is not a required component of
   83  the one-half credit in economics.
   84         (g) Eight Credits in Electives.—School districts must
   85  develop and offer coordinated electives so that a student may
   86  develop knowledge and skills in his or her area of interest,
   87  such as electives with a STEM or liberal arts focus. Such
   88  electives must include opportunities for students to earn
   89  college credit, including industry-certified career education
   90  programs or series of career-themed courses that result in
   91  industry certification or articulate into the award of college
   92  credit, or career education courses for which there is a
   93  statewide or local articulation agreement and which lead to
   94  college credit. A student entering grade 9 before the 2019-2020
   95  school year must earn eight credits in electives. A student
   96  entering grade 9 in the 2019-2020 school year or thereafter must
   97  earn seven and one-half credits in electives.
   98         (h) One-half credit in personal financial literacy.
   99  Beginning with students entering grade 9 in the 2019-2020 school
  100  year, each student must earn one-half credit in personal
  101  financial literacy and money management. This instruction must
  102  include discussion of or instruction in the following:
  103         1. Types of bank accounts offered, opening and managing a
  104  bank account, and assessing the quality of a depository
  105  institution’s services.
  106         2. Balancing a checkbook.
  107         3. Basic principles of money management, such as spending,
  108  credit, credit scores, and managing debt, including retail and
  109  credit card debt.
  110         4. Completing a loan application.
  111         5. Receiving an inheritance and related implications.
  112         6. Basic principles of personal insurance policies.
  113         7. Computing federal income taxes.
  114         8. Local tax assessments.
  115         9. Computing interest rates by various mechanisms.
  116         10. Simple contracts.
  117         11. Contesting an incorrect billing statement.
  118         12. Types of savings and investments.
  119         13. State and federal laws concerning finance.
  120         Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.