WA Bill Would Add Financial Literacy Class to Grad Requirements

If the bill passes, students would be learning, sometime during their four years of high school, how credit cards work, interest rates, mortgages, how to balance a budget and more.

  GOP House Rep proposes a mandatory financial literacy class

According to House GOP sources and The Center Square, House Rep Skyler Rude of Walla Walla is proposing a financial literacy class. House Bill (HB) 1915 would be very flexible to the needs and abilities of various school districts, and could be taught basically anytime during the students' tenure.

According to Rude:

“The Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction already has the standards in place and the curriculum is there, along with the training for teachers so there is no cost to this. Some districts are already doing this and making financial literacy a graduation requirement.”

Among the schools that already require financial life skills training is Pasco and Kennewick  Rude's bill would expand it to all Districts.

It would be worth half a credit, but would not affect or raise the current graduation total of 24 required by the state. The first class affected by this would be the Class of 2029,  the bill is scheduled to have a hearing on Monday, January 15th.