BOISE, Idaho — High school students like Zoe Mabeza and Savannah Chapman want to be as prepared as possible for life after graduation, including making smart financial decisions.
Mabeza and Chapman's high school offers personal finance, a class both students took.
"I'm starting to learn more about investing and saving and budgeting and the value of money over time," Mabeza said.
House Bill 92 would make learning those skills a requirement for high schoolers in Idaho. Republican State Rep. James Petzke co-wrote Bill 92 with State Superintendent Debbie Critchfield.
"I actually took a class in financial literacy when I was in high school; it was an elective class," Petzke said.
Petzke said that class made a lasting impact.
"I think I was one of six kids in the class," he said, "and so hundreds of students missed out on it every year. I realized that it should be something that's required of high school students."
If the bill passes, some schools may create their own financial literacy class. Others might add personal finance to an already existing class like economics.
Petzke said teaching financial literacy shouldn't cost the state any extra money because schools can use free curriculum vetted by the State Board of Education.
"The biggest areas that are spelled out in the bill that I think should be covered in the class are things like how to understand debt, how to make sure that you don't get into trouble with debt, understanding the basics of how investing works, understand the basics of how to set up a simple household budget," Petzke said.
The bills was created in tandem with Superintendent Critchfield's proposal to make financial literacy a graduation requirement, which the House Education Committee will vote on.
"We're saying this is the minimum that school districts have to do," Petzke said. "They have to teach these areas of financial literacy and do at least half a credit dovetailed into economics."
Chapman said she's grateful her high school already offers personal finance and wants other students to have the same opportunity.
"I just think that it would be really important for everyone that's in high school right now to take a personal finance class," Chapman said. "It just would help them so much."
The bill goes to the House floor on Monday. Pending that decision, the bill then moves to the Senate floor.
Petzke said he's hopeful the bill passes because of bipartisan support.
"I do expect to have a successful result of this bill because it does have support from such a broad range ... you know, both sides of the aisle and across all ends of the ideological spectrum," he said.
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