Summary

Utah SB 43 (Open States or Utah Legislature) amends existing legislation to require the State Board of Education to establish a task force to study and make recommendations to the Board on how to improve financial and economic literacy education in the public school system.

Legislative Analysis

UT SB 43 requires the State Board of Education to establish a task force to study and make recommendations to the Board on how to improve financial and economic literacy education in the public school system. The task force will include representatives from the Board, school districts and charter schools, and private or public entities that teach financial education and are committed to empowering individuals and families to achieve economic stability, opportunity, and upward mobility.

This legislation directs the task force to do the following in 2013:

• review and recommend changes to the course standards and objectives for the general financial literacy course to ensure they reflect current and relevant content consistent with the “financial and economic literacy concepts” listed in existing legislation. SB 43 adds “online banking services” to this list;
• study the development of an online assessment of students’ competency in financial and economic literacy that may be used to measure student learning growth and proficiency in financial and economic literacy and assess the effectiveness of instruction in financial and economic literacy;
• consider the development of a rigorous, online only course to fulfill the general financial literacy curriculum and graduation requirements;
• identify opportunities for teaching financial and economic literacy through an integrated school curriculum and in the regular course of school work;
• study and make recommendations for educator license endorsements for teachers of financial and economic literacy;
• identify efficient and cost-effective methods of delivering professional development in financial and economic literacy content and instructional methods; and
• study how financial and economic literacy education may be enhanced through community partnerships.

The task force will reconvene every two years to review and recommend adjustments to the course standards and objectives of the general financial literacy course.

The State Board of Education will make a report to the Education Interim Committee no later than the committee’s November 2013 meeting summarizing the findings and recommendations of the task force and actions taken by the board in response to the task force’s findings and recommendations.

This legislation may promote digital learning if the task force recommends utilizing online assessments to measure student learning and the effectiveness of instruction in financial and economic literacy. The possibility of an online course is another potential opportunity.

Legislative History

Detailed Vote History: Legiscan |  Open States

Approved by Governor Gary Herbert on 3/27/2013