Measure would make financial literacy a requirement for high school graduation

Idaho public schools may soon add financial literacy as a graduation requirement.

House Bill 92, sponsored by Rep. James Petzke, R-Meridian, unanimously passed through the House Education Committee on Wednesday.

The bill, which will be paired with a rule from the state Department of Education, would require students in grades nine through 12 to take at least one course on personal finance and money management.

Petzke said the class would be paired with an economics class, and nothing would be taken away from the existing curriculum. He also said it shouldn’t be associated with any additional costs to the state because there are a number of free curriculum resources available, which would be vetted by the education department, that school districts may use.

“We’ve had some really intense debates about education, obviously this week so far in this building,” Petzke said, “and I think this bill is something I think we can all rally around.”

Idaho Superintendent of Public Instruction Debbie Critchfield testified in favor of the bill and said there would be no additional endorsement required for a teacher to teach this class.

“We want to provide maximum flexibility, particularly in our rural schools,” said Critchfield, who added that another reason for the lack of endorsement requirement is that Idaho does not have an endorsement for financial literacy available.

If the bill passes and a rule comes forward, it would add half a credit of personal finance as a graduation requirement. Per the bill, the instruction must include information about the influence money has on human behavior, types of bank accounts, investment options and how to calculate net worth, types of credit and how credit rating is determined, financing a college education, the purpose of the tax system and how it relates to income, building a budget for independent living, and modern consumer skills.

Dale Layne, on behalf of the Idaho Rural Schools Association and Idaho Association of School Administrators, also testified in favor of the bill.

Petzke told the committee that part of why he wanted to pass the legislation was because of the benefit he saw in taking a personal finance class in high school. He said because it was an elective, many of his classmates missed out on what he saw as valuable skills he gained in the class.

“In full disclosure, the only reason that I took the class was because my dad was the teacher,” Petzke said, “and if your dad is the teacher, it’s not an elective, it’s a requirement.”

The bill will go to the House floor, and if passed, would go into effect July 1.

Guido covers Idaho politics for the Lewiston Tribune, Moscow-Pullman Daily News and Idaho Press of Nampa. She may be contacted at lguido@idahopress.com and can be found on Twitter @EyeOnBoiseGuido.