HF 148 (LSB 1332YH (4) 85)

HOUSE FILE 148

BY  PETTENGILL, FISHER, ALONS, MAXWELL, HEIN, HESS, HEARTSILL, VANDER LINDEN, LANDON, SCHULTZ, and WATTS

A BILL FOR

An Act adding one-half unit of personal finance literacy to the educational program standards established for school districts and accredited nonpublic schools, making an appropriation, and including effective date provisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 256.11, subsection 5, Code 2013, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  k.  One-half unit of personal finance literacy. All students shall complete at least one-half unit of personal finance literacy as a condition of graduation. The curriculum shall meet the national standards in kindergarten through grade twelve personal finance education created and maintained by a national nonprofit coalition for personal financial literacy, and at a minimum shall address the following:
   (1)  Savings, including emergency fund, purchases, and wealth building.
   (2)  Understanding investments, including compound and simple interest, liquidity, diversification, risk return ratio, certificates of deposit, money market accounts, single stocks, bonds, mutual funds, rental real estate, annuities, commodities, and futures.
   (3)  Wealth building and college planning, including long-term and short-term investing using tax-favored plans, individual retirement accounts and payments from such accounts, employer-sponsored retirement plans and investments, public and private educational savings accounts, and uniform gifts and transfers to minors.
   (4)  Credit and debt, including credit cards, payday lending, rent-to-own transactions, debt consolidation, automobile leasing, cosigning a loan, debt avoidance, and the marketing of debt, especially to young people.
   (5)  Consumer awareness of the power of marketing on buying decisions including zero percent interest offers; marketing methods, including product positioning, advertising, brand recognition, and personal selling; how to read a credit report and correct inaccuracies; how to build a credit score; how to develop a plan to deal with creditors and avoid bankruptcy; and the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
   (6)  Financial responsibility and money management, including creating and living on a written budget and balancing a checkbook; basic rules of successful negotiating and techniques; and personality and gender traits regarding money.
   (7)  Insurance, risk management, income, and career decisions, including career choices that fit personality styles and occupational goals, job search strategies, cover letters, resumes, interview techniques, payroll taxes and other income withholdings, and revenue sources for federal, state, and local governments.
   (8)  Different types of insurance coverage including renters, homeowners, automobile, health, disability, long-term care, identity theft, and life insurance; term life, cash value and whole life insurance; and insurance terms such as deductible, stop loss, elimination period, replacement coverage, liability, and out-of-pocket.
   (9)  Buying, selling, and renting advantages and disadvantages relating to real estate, including adjustable rate, balloon, conventional, government-backed, reverse, and seller-financed mortgages.
    Sec. 2.  DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION —— PERSONAL FINANCE LITERACY COURSE BY IOWA LEARNING ONLINE INITIATIVE.  There is appropriated from the general fund of the state to the department of education for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013, and ending June 30, 2014, the following amount, or so much thereof as is necessary, to be used for the purposes designated:
   For purposes of implementing statewide online personal finance literacy coursework to assist schools in meeting the requirements of section 256.11, subsection 5, paragraph “k”, if enacted, including but not limited to course curriculum, assessments, materials, salaries, support, maintenance, and for miscellaneous purposes:
.................................................. $  1,400,000
   Notwithstanding section 8.33, moneys appropriated in this section that remain unencumbered or unobligated at the close of the fiscal year shall not revert but shall remain available for expenditure for the purposes designated until the close of the succeeding fiscal year.
    Sec. 3.  EFFECTIVE DATE.  The following provision or provisions of this Act take effect July 1, 2014:
   1.  The section of this Act amending section 256.11.
EXPLANATION
   This bill adds a one-half unit course in personal finance literacy to the educational program each school district and accredited nonpublic school is required to offer in grades 9-12, and requires all students to take the course as a condition of graduation.
   The bill appropriates $1.4 million from the general fund of the state for FY 2013-2014 to the department of education for implementing statewide online personal finance literacy coursework under the department’s Iowa learning online initiative to assist schools in meeting the requirement to add one-half unit of personal finance literacy to the educational program standards.
   The curriculum must meet the national standards in K-12 personal finance education created and maintained by a national nonprofit coalition for personal financial literacy, and at a minimum must address areas described in the bill relating to savings, understanding investments, wealth building and college planning, credit and debt, consumer awareness of the power of marketing on buying decisions, financial responsibility and money management, insurance and risk management, income and career decisions, different types of insurance coverage, and real estate and mortgages.
   The moneys appropriated do not revert at the end of the fiscal year, but remain available for the purposes designated until the end of FY 2014-2015.
   The provision adding the one-half unit course in personal finance literacy to the educational standards and requiring students to take the course as a condition of graduation takes effect July 1, 2014.