BILL ANALYSIS �
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 779|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 779
Author: Lieu (D)
Amended: 5/3/11
Vote: 21
SENATE EDUCATION COMMITTEE : 9-1, 4/27/11
AYES: Lowenthal, Alquist, Blakeslee, Hancock, Huff, Liu,
Price, Simitian, Vargas
NOES: Runner
NO VOTE RECORDED: Vacancy
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : Senate Rule 28.8
SUBJECT : Pupil instruction: economics: personal
finances
SOURCE : Author
DIGEST : This bill authorizes a school district, in
providing instruction in economics, to include instruction
related to personal finances and requires the California
Department of Education to consider developing a personal
finances curriculum in the next adoption cycle of the
history and social science curriculum framework and its
accompanying instructional materials.
ANALYSIS : Current law requires the State Board of
Education (SBE) to adopt statewide academic content
standards in core curriculum areas, pursuant to the
recommendations of the Commission for the Establishment of
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Academic Content and Performance Standards. The
History-Social Science Standards for California Public
Schools were adopted in 1998 and the curriculum framework
for those standards was adopted in October 2000.
Current law requires, after January 1 2013, the SBE to
ensure that the revision of textbooks or curriculum
frameworks in the social sciences, health and mathematics
curricula integrate certain components, including financial
preparedness.
Although the update of the history-social science framework
was originally scheduled to be completed in 2010, the
process for reviewing frameworks and adopting instructional
materials has been suspended since July 2009, pursuant to
ABX4 2 (Evans), Chapter 2, Statutes of 2009, Fourth
Extraordinary Session, which, among other things,
prohibited the SBE from reviewing frameworks and adopting
instructional materials until the 2013-14 school year.
ABX4 2 also extended to the 2012-13 fiscal year the
suspension of the requirement to purchase instructional
materials within any specific period of time following
adoption of those materials by the SBE.
SB 70 (Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter
7, Statutes of 2011, extended the suspension of the
framework and instructional materials process by an
additional two years until the 2015-16 school year.
Current law requires the adopted course of study for
students in grades 7-12 to include specified content in
social studies and requires students in grades 9 to 12,
inclusive, to complete, as part of the high school
graduation course requirements, three courses in social
studies, including a one-semester course in economics.
This bill:
1.Authorizes a school district, in providing instruction in
economics, to include instruction related to the
understanding of personal finance, including, but not
limited to, budgeting, savings, credit, and identity
theft.
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2.Requires the CDE to consider developing a personal
finance curriculum in the next cycle in which the history
and social science curriculum framework.
Comments
Need for the Bill . Current law provides schools the
flexibility to teach budgeting, savings, and personal
finance; however, the author's office maintains that most
pupils do not receive this information and many students
leave high school ill equipped to manage the finances
responsibly, establish and maintain good credit, or protect
themselves from fraud, deception, predatory lending, or
identity theft. According to the U.S. Financial Literacy
and Education Commission, "The recent economic crisis has
highlighted how essential it is that individuals and
families have the information, education, and tools they
need to make good financial decisions in an increasingly
complex U.S. and global financial system.
Recent Efforts . The Superintendent of Public Instruction
has launched a financial literacy awareness campaign to
provide schools, teachers, students and parents with access
to supplemental resources that can help students develop
knowledge and understanding of money management. The goal
of this initiative is to provide schools, teachers,
students, and parents with access to supplemental resources
that can help students develop a keen understanding of
responsible money management and increase their overall
financial literacy. The CDE hosts an online resource
library for grades K-12 that provides more than 30 Internet
links to programs that are appropriate for use in the
classroom or at home to increase financial literacy.
Where Does Financial Literacy Belong ? Currently, the
state's academic content standards provide that the
instruction of economic address the following economic
concepts:
1.Common economic terms, concepts, and economic reasoning.
2.Elements of America's market economy in a global setting.
3.The influence of the federal government on the American
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economy.
4.The elements of the U.S. labor market in a global
setting.
5.The impact of aggregate economic behavior on the U.S.
economy.
6.International trade and how the U.S. economy affects and
is affected by economic forces beyond the borders of the
United States.
Although a model personal finance curriculum could be
helpful to schools and teachers who want to teach students
about personal finances and money, including the curriculum
in the next adoption cycle for the social science framework
could require modification of the existing content
standards for economics, as the subject is not covered in
the existing domains of those standards Conceivably,
information relating to personal finances, budgetary
savings, credit, and identity theft could be incorporated
into other content areas such as mathematics or health.
Given the permissiveness of the Education Code, schools can
already incorporate personal finance instruction into
economics or any other course if they so choose.
Related/Prior Legislation
SB 223 (Wyland), 2009-10 Session, required that one-half of
the economics course required for high school graduation
focus on personal finance and financial literacy. Passed
the Senate with a vote of 39-0 on May 26, 2009. (Died in
Assembly Appropriations Committee)
AB 1502 (Lieu), 2007-08 Session, would have required the
SBE and the Curriculum Development and Supplemental
Materials Commission to ensure that information about
financial literacy is included in appropriate subject area
frameworks, encouraged school districts to include
instruction in personal finance, as specified in economics,
and authorized the SPI to accept private donations for the
purposes of that Act. Passed the Senate with a vote of
28-8 on August 20, 2008. The bill subsequently vetoed by
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Governor Schwarzenegger.
AB 150 (Lieu), 2007-08 Session, would have required the SPI
to administer a California Financial Literacy Initiative as
a program for improving pupil financial literacy. Passed
the Senate with a vote of 36-4 on September 10, 2007. The
bill subsequently vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.
AB 1950 (Lieu), 2005-06 Session, would have authorized
school districts to provide instruction in economics
courses relating to the understanding of personal finances,
including budgeting, savings, and credit. Passed the
Senate with a vote of 35-4 on August 28, 2006. The bill
subsequently vetoed by Governor Schwarzenegger.
AB 2435 (Wiggins), 2003-04 Session, would have authorized
school districts to include instruction related to the
understanding of personal finances, including budgeting,
savings, and credit. Passed the Senate with a vote of
24-10 on August 25, 2004. The bill subsequently vetoed by
Governor Schwarzenegger.
In his veto message for these bills, then-Governor
Schwarzenegger opined that while improving the financial
literacy is meritorious, school districts already have the
flexibility to incorporate money management into their
lesson plans and the content standards are intentionally
broad in order to allow coverage of various events,
development and issues.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
CPM:cm 5/17/11 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: NONE RECEIVED
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