What's happening
This bill requires all New York public high schools to provide comprehensive financial education to students in grades 9–12.
Why it matters
Prepares students for real-life financial decisions. by mandating instruction on essential topics such as budgeting, banking, credit management, taxes, investing, and retirement planning—areas many young adults are often unprepared for after graduation.
Promotes equity in financial knowledge. , ensuring that all students, regardless of their community or family background, receive education on crucial financial skills that can affect long-term wealth, debt, and opportunity.
Allows flexibility and local adaptation. , letting schools fulfill the requirement via existing economics or financial management courses, while also encouraging the development of new, locally tailored curricula to meet community needs.
Requires ongoing curriculum support. from the state commissioner, aiming to keep financial education current, age-appropriate, and relevant, rather than a one-time or outdated lesson, thus increasing the potential for lasting impact.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Teach Financial Skills in Schools
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to education
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Teach Financial Literacy in Schools
In Assembly Committee · Education · Sponsor Daniel Rosenthal
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8198
IN SENATE
April 17, 2018
Introduced by Sen. COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a requirement that instruction in financial education be provided to all pupils in grades nine, ten, eleven or twelve
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 803-b to read as follows:
§ 803-b. Instruction relating to financial education. 1. All pupils in grades nine, ten, eleven or twelve in all public schools in the state shall receive a course or full unit of instruction in financial education delivered by means of a comprehensive financial literacy program.
2. The requirements of this section may be fulfilled through the finance unit of the required high school economics course or the continuation of financial management courses currently being taught in public secondary schools. Additional courses are encouraged to be developed and approved at the local level.
3. The board of education or trustees of the school district is charged with developing and maintaining a financial literacy program for secondary school pupils that shall include, but not be limited to, instruction in the following:
a. recognizing the relationship between financial planning and attaining financial goals;
b. opening and maintaining banking and checking accounts and assessing the quality of banking services;
c. developing a personal budget;
d. analyzing spending, credit purchasing, credit scoring, and managing debt, including retail and credit card debt;
e. calculating interest rates by various methods;
f. evaluating borrowing options;
g. assessing the implications of an inheritance;
h. computing state and federal income taxes, understanding net versus gross income and required tax deductions;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03472-01-7
S. 8198 2
i. analyzing local tax assessments;
j. assessing different types of investments and how investments help to achieve personal goals;
k. recognizing how investments help to achieve financial goals throughout the stages of an individual's life;
l. analyzing state and federal laws concerning finance;
m. recognizing the basic principles of personal insurance policies;
n. analyzing regulatory agencies and their role; and
o. recognizing the importance of planning for retirement and analyzing retirement planning options.
4. The commissioner shall provide assistance at the local level to aid in the development of curricula for courses of study which shall be age appropriate and developed according to the needs and abilities of pupils in grades nine, ten, eleven or twelve.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a requirement that instruction in financial education be provided to all pupils in grades nine, ten, eleven or twelve
Purpose or general idea of bill
This bill would require that high school students have financial educa- tion integrated into their curricula for high school students, including personal financial planning and budgeting, understanding Of the income and property tax systems, and understanding state and federal laws concerning personal and commercial finance.
Summary of specific provisions
Adds a new section 803-b to the education law
Justification
The present times have shown that young adults, more and more, are being required to be more financially independent in their daily lives. By the time they leave high school and go to college, many teens already have a job, pay taxes, have a checking account, a credit card, and some level of debt. At the same time of this expanding responsibility, there has not been an increase in the knowledge about finance issues among these young adults. They may have a checking account and credit card, but do not fully understand the implications of using both, or even the process that these financing mechanisms involve. Often times, when asked what a credit card does, many teens respond that the card offers free money with which to make purchases, not realizing that it is actually a loan at a high level of interest. By integrating a more detailed financial education into the high school curricula (either in existing classes or by creating new ones), students will be better equipped to understand how to maintain a personal budget, manage debt, and realize the mechan- ics and implications of collection and uses of various kinds of taxes.
Prior legislative history
2005-2016: Referred to Education 2017: A.1174 Referred to Education
Fiscal implications
None
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.