South Carolina Proposes Bill Requiring Students to Take Personal Finance Course

High school students work on a 4 hours philosophy dissertation, that kicks off the French
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A South Carolina lawmaker is proposing a bill which would direct schools to give students some lessons in “adulting,” or at least give them a few pointers on personal finance.

State Sen. Luke Rankin (R-Conway), who filed the legislation, crafted a bill that would require high school students to take a one-half credit course in the subject of personal finance and pass a test at the end of the year to graduate.

If the legislation passes the statehouse, lawmakers will direct the state’s Department of Education to develop curriculum for the course by July 1, 2020, before the requirement takes effect for students at the start of the 2020-2021 school year.

The bill is currently making its way through the state Senate Education Committee.

Lawmakers are starting to catch onto the trend of ingraining good personal financial habits into the minds of younger generations, especially after one 2017 study found that Americans have racked up $1 trillion in credit card debt.

Entrepreneurs have already tapped into this market, launching businesses aimed at teaching young people basic life skills— such as balancing a checkbook, and some high schools have offered “adulting classes” to its students to teach them good personal financial habits.

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