Empowering all women state legislators to effect sound policy

Financial Literacy in Schools: A Growing Policy Trend

Contributed By Senator Karen Morgan – 8th Utah Senate District

In the wake of the financial recession, state legislators began taking constructive policy actions towards relieving the future pangs of financial instability. Utah enacted a required high school financial literacy course, which began with the graduating class of 2008. This is a great step toward helping students leave high school with a basic understanding of how finances work. However, children form opinions and habits about money at early ages, and the Utah legislature also recognized the need for a K-12 systemic approach, which is reflected in Senate Bill (SB2). This 2008 legislation includes:

K-12 Passport program for student achievement;
K-12 financial and economic concepts integration with core subjects (math, social studies, and language arts);
Common messaging among education, community, government, and business/industry groups; and
Parent and community involvement.

The Financial and Economic Education Passport

The Passport program is an optional opportunity for students to be recognized for classroom participation and at-home or community activities centered around financial and economic education. Passport recipients will be recognized by their schools and will receive a certificate signed by Utah’s Governor.

Finance in the Classroom

To support the Passport program, the Finance in the Classroom website and program was developed collaboratively by the Utah State Office of Education and the Utah Jumpstart Coalition for Youth Financial Literacy. This online site provides resources for teachers, students, and parents. It is a comprehensive site, yet it is targeted to Utah’s education standards. Teachers no longer have to search endlessly on the web to find quality resources for teaching finance and economics to their students. The work has been done for them and saves them time by making it easier to implement the integration model. Lesson plans, activities, videos, vocabulary, books, music, and more are included in this exceptional collection and can be found at www.financeintheclassroom.org.

Finance/Economics Integration with Core Subjects

The integration with core subjects will require math, social studies, and language arts teachers at each grade level to include financial/economic concepts, while teaching existing standards. For example, a kindergarten teacher might use “The Ant and the Grasshopper” fable to introduce scarcity and choices, while addressing the language arts standard for language development through listening or speaking. Or, an 8th grade mathematics teacher teaching the standard for solving problems using ratios and proportional reasoning could assign students to find the mean or median annual salary for a profession in which they are interested. Then students would use the most recent tax rates to find the amount they would pay in federal and state income taxes based on that salary.

Common Messaging

Common messaging requires groups from education, community, government, and business/industry entities to develop a social networking campaign targeting youth through adults to promote financial knowledge and responsibility.

Parent and Community Involvement

Parental and community involvement is a key component of the Passport program. Additionally, the state PTA organization has endorsed the Finance in the Classroom website, and will encourage parent partnership in teaching students about finances. Major employers will provide lunch time learning sessions, where parents in the workplace will learn about Finance in the Classroom and how it can benefit their children, their families, and themselves individually. Parents have the opportunity to learn to manage their own finances as they teach their children.

Looking Forward

The 2009 SB100 is a follow-up bill requiring all schools to provide to all parents of Utah kindergarten students information about the Passport program and about the Utah Educational Savings Plan. This is intended to create parental involvement in financial and economic understanding at the very beginning of a child’s education. Success of these efforts cannot be measured in the present, but will be reflected in the improved financial stability of Utah families in the future.

Legislative Voice

Representative Keeley’s Measures to End Anticipated Tax Return Predatory Lending

With tax season recently passed, state legislators are prioritizing new legislation aimed at improving the economic well being of their constituents during the critical tax refund process. Representative Helene M. Keeley of Delaware is fast at work doing just that. Her sponsorship of House Bill (H.B.) 303 focuses on curtailing the potentially predatory lending practices associated with anticipated tax refunds. Anticipation lending involves a loan in which a taxpayer borrows money based on the estimated value of his or her annual tax return. Representative Keeley attributes the lack of legislative consumer protection safeguards as a principle reason why these loans have threatened the economic stability and well being of Delaware’s residents. In fact, some of the percentage rates for refund anticipation loans range from 40 percent to 700 percent.

Financial Literacy in Schools: A Growing Policy Trend

Contributed By Senator Karen Morgan – 8th Utah Senate District

Senator Lesil McGuire (AK)

Developing Energy Legislation in Alaska

Contributed by Senator Lesil McGuire of Alaska

In Alaska, oil and natural gas provide the backbone of our economy. We are blessed with proven resources and continued potential for fossil fuel development. But Alaska is also uniquely situated to be a world leader in the development of cleaner, greener renewable and alternative energies.

Policy Spotlights

Arthritis Foundation Advocates in Action Webinar

The Arthritis Foundation invites you to participate in the Southeast Region's Inaugural Advocates in Action Webinar. The webinar will be held June 30, 2010 from 1:00-2:00PM EST.

Women In Government Releases Mental Health Legislative Toolkit

In recognition of National Mental Health Month, Women In Government, a national, bi-partisan, non-profit organization representing women state legislators has released a Mental Health Legislative Toolkit. This Toolkit is designed to provide state legislators with the essential tools necessary to promote legislation and educate their constituents on the various issues surrounding mental health, including education and treatment.

New Report on HPV and Cervical Cancer Indicates States Are Turning Challenges into Opportunities for Prevention Efforts

A report released by Women In Government (WIG) shows that states are making progress in the fight against cervical cancer. However, despite tremendous progress, there still is substantial variation with cervical cancer prevention efforts, particularly for underserved populations, across the states. Among the steps still needed to make effective cervical cancer prevention a reality for women at all socioeconomic levels is to increase funding for screening and vaccination programs to ensure access for women who are uninsured or underinsured. These findings from A Roadmap for Success: The State of Cervical Cancer Prevention in America 2010, the sixth and final state-by-state comparison report released by WIG, are designed to highlight the tremendous strides that have been made to battle cervical cancer since WIG took up the initiative six years ago.

WIG Members in the News