BILL NUMBER: SB 1080	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Lieu

                        FEBRUARY 14, 2012

   An act to add Section 51220.7 to the Education Code, relating to
pupil instruction.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1080, as introduced, Lieu. Pupil instruction: economics:
personal finance.
   Existing law requires a school district, as part of its adopted
course of study for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer courses in
specified areas of study, including, among others, social sciences,
drawing upon the disciplines of anthropology, economics, geography,
history, political science, psychology, and sociology.
   This bill would encourage the instruction provided in economics to
include instruction related to the understanding of personal
finances, including, but not limited to, budgeting, savings, credit,
and identity theft. The bill would require the State Department of
Education to develop a personal finances curriculum in the next cycle
in which the history-social science curriculum framework is adopted.
The bill would also make several legislative findings and
declarations.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) California does not have an official statewide policy or
educational plan for the teaching of financial literacy. The growing
negative economic effects of financial illiteracy have spurred the
need for financial literacy education for all elementary and
secondary pupils.
   (b) According to a national survey conducted in the fall of 2007,
nearly half of homeowners with adjustable rate mortgages admitted
that they did not know how their adjustable rate mortgages will
adjust or reset, and nearly 75 percent did not know how much their
monthly mortgage payments would increase when the payments adjust or
reset.
   (c) Americans 25 to 34 years of age have the second highest rate
of bankruptcy, just after Americans 35 to 44 years of age. The
bankruptcy rate among Americans between 25 to 34 years of age
increased between 1991 and 2001, indicating that those individuals
were more likely to file bankruptcy as young adults than were baby
boomers at the same age.
   (d) The national annual savings rate has declined from 9 percent
in the 1980s to approximately negative 0.4 percent of after-tax
household income, which is a level not seen since the Great
Depression.
   (e) California high school seniors taking part in a national
survey of financial knowledge scored an average of 44 percent, which
is four percentage points lower than the national average.
   (f) Many states have already recognized the importance of
financial literacy. Thirty-eight states report having personal
finance standards in various forms, while nine of those states
currently include personal finance instruction as part of their
graduation requirements.
   (g) Increasing the financial literacy of all economic and ethnic
groups is documented to improve attitudes, lead to improved
decisionmaking, and provide for a more secure future for individuals
and their families, who have been educated with regard to these
issues.
   (h) Financial literacy education is an essential ingredient for
creating an active citizenry that is able to understand how the state'
s budget decisions will affect their personal lives.
   (i) The teaching of financial literacy skills is vital to equip
the young people of California with the tools they need to enter the
workforce.
   (j) Financial literacy instruction may be easily integrated as a
valuable component for elementary and secondary schools, colleges and
universities, libraries, community groups, and citizen town hall
meetings.
   (k) Many groups are dedicated to increasing the financial literacy
of Americans, and a broad range of quality personal finance
instructional materials and curricula have been created for this
purpose, but California's pupils are not getting this vital
information.
   (l) At this crucial economic time, it is imperative that the state
encourage the provision of financial literacy instruction to all
pupils.
  SEC. 2.  Section 51220.7 is added to the Education Code, to read:
   51220.7.  (a) The Legislature encourages the instruction provided
in economics pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 51220 to include
instruction related to the understanding of personal finances,
including, but not limited to, budgeting, savings, credit, and
identity theft.
   (b) The department shall develop a personal finances curriculum in
the next cycle in which the history-social science curriculum
framework is adopted.