Connecticut lawmakers want to beef up the financial literacy curriculum offered at its high schools.
The Connecticut House of Representatives recently voted to direct the state develop a financial literacy curriculum that includes information on the banking system, investing, savings, and personal finance, according to the Hartford Courant. Current law only requires that financial literacy classes teach how credit and debit cards work.
The bill mandates that the curriculum be available to schools. But similar to an effort in Kansas that I wrote about last month, it does not mandate that schools teach financial literacy.
Connecticut received an “F” in financial literacy requirements on a 2013 study by the Center for Financial Literacy at Champlain College in Burlington, Vt., and there have been unsuccessful attempts in that state to mandate financial education. But as I reported last month, financial literacy can be a tricky subject to legislate. Some say there are already too many mandates on schools. In Connecticut, lawmakers already approved a bill this year adding the history of the labor movement and free-market capitalism to the list of mandated classes, state Rep. Bill Simanski, of Gramby, told the Courant.
The bill will now go to the governor for approval.