BILL ANALYSIS

Senate Research Center	C.S.S.B. 686
	By: Alvarado
	Education
	4/22/2019
	Committee Report (Substituted)

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

S.B. 686 would require students to take a personal financial literacy class in order to graduate from public high school in Texas. Although personal financial literacy is currently an option for public high school students, it is necessary to make the course required for all students. S.B. 686 requires high school students to take one semester (1/2 credit hour) of the personal financial literacy class that is already offered as a social studies class. The benefits of a community with a strong financial literacy background support the future financial security of our local communities. The Texas Association of Bankers is in support of this bill. This bill will have a committee substitute that will remove 1/2 existing elective credit from the current graduation plan. This 1/2 will be replaced with 1/2 credit of personal financial literacy. (Original Author's/Sponsor's Statement of Intent)

C.S.S.B. 686 amends current law relating to courses personal financial literacy and economics for high school students in public schools.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

Rulemaking authority previously granted to the State Board of Education is modified in SECTION 1 (Section 28.025, Education Code) of this bill.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 28.025, Education Code, by amending Subsection (b-1) and adding Subsection (b-24), as follows:

(b-1) Requires the State Board of Education (SBOE) by rule to require that the curriculum requirements for the foundation high school program under Subsection (a) (relating to requiring SBOE to determine curriculum requirements for the foundation high school program and designate certain courses) include a requirement that students successfully complete:

(1)�(3) makes no changes to these subdivisions;

(4) three credits in social studies under Section 28.002(a)(1)(D) (relating to requiring school districts to offer to students a foundation curriculum in social studies), including one credit in United States history, at least one-half credit in government and at least one-half credit in economics or personal financial literacy and economics, rather than one-half credit in economics, and one credit in world geography or world history; and

(5)�(8) makes no changes to these subdivisions.

(b-24) Requires SBOE, in adopting rules under Subsection (b-1), to ensure that a personal financial literacy and economics course taken to comply with the curriculum requirement under Subsection (b-1)(4) allocates two-thirds of instruction time to instruction in personal financial literacy and one-third of instruction time to instruction in economics.

SECTION 2. Provides that this Act applies beginning with the 2020�2021 school year.

SECTION 3. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2019.