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Pennsylvania House of Representatives
04/25/2024 02:51 AM
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=H&SPick=20230&cosponId=38833
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House of Representatives
Session of 2023 - 2024 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: December 19, 2022 04:15 PM
From: Representative Thomas L. Mehaffie, III
To: All House members
Subject: Personal Finance Literacy Class for High School Students
 
In the near future, I plan to continue my efforts to expand personal financial literacy education in schools for the long-term benefit of ALL students. I will introduce legislation that takes into account feedback in order to find a true middle ground that respects the needs of students and the on-the-ground realities of schools.

My proposal will do the following:
  1. Establish a personal finance course requirement for public and non-public school students taking effect with the 2025-2026 school year. The requirement will give schools the flexibility to determine if the course requirement should be a half credit or a full credit course.
  2. Require PDE to update all instructional resources and model curriculum for personal financial education by the 2024-2025 school year. This will ensure that educational materials will be ready for educators to review and prepare with in advance of the course requirement taking effect.
  3. Ensures PDE will update its guidance around staffing, so it is clear who is qualified to provide instruction. At a minimum, the guidance will authorize individuals with Family and Consumer Science; Business, Computer and Information Technology and Social Studies certifications to teach the course.
  4. Recognize that even with significant new investments in education, schools are facing educator shortages. My bill will protect teacher prep periods from being used to assign teachers to the new personal financial literacy classes. It will also ensure that educators don’t incur any additional costs for any add-on certifications they are assigned to attain to meet the new course requirement.
Finally, my proposal will recognize that personal finance isn’t the sole responsibility of the K-12 education system. Higher education institutions should have a role in promoting responsible money management skills for young people, as well. Young adults that are away from home are vulnerable to credit card corporations seeking to expand their reach before people are mature enough to make such decisions. My bill will amend current language in the Public School Code to require freshman orientation programming include information on money management skills for college students. In addition, it will prohibit higher education institutions from marketing credit cards to students on or near a campus of the institution of higher education or at an event sponsored by or related to an institution of higher education.

Please join me in co-sponsoring this comprehensive approach to personal financial education.