Students may get a financial primer

Utah students may be getting a little extra help in the classroom on how to handle their finances, if one lawmaker has her way.

Sen. Pat Jones, D-Holladay, is sponsoring legislation that would allow students to engage in a "merit badge-type" program that would familiarize them with finances and arm students with skills to help them sidestep pitfalls like bankruptcy, foreclosure and identity theft down the road.

"More young people filed bankruptcy in 2005-2006 than graduated college," said Preston Cochrane, president and CEO of AAA Fair Credit, a nonprofit financial counseling and education organization.

He said those statistics can be attributed to two main factors.

In the past 20 years the financial industry has become much more complex — more and more young young people are carrying debit cards and credit cards, and they tend to spend more per transaction than with cash, Cochrane said.

He said that for many young people, saving for something they want is a thing of the past. It's all about instant gratification, he said.

And secondly, there are a lot more expensive gadgets and gismos out there for kids to buy, Cochrane said.

Utahns themselves need a little extra help when it comes to finance. In 2005 Utah had the highest number of bankruptcies per capita filed in the nation.

In 2006 Utah became one of the few states that has a financial literacy requirement built into the state core curriculum. The course is required and available to high school juniors and seniors.

But Mary Shumway, state director of career and technical education, said it's tough to teach kids all they need to know in one semester.

"A semester shot may not be enough, and we can do more in grades seven through 12," Shumway said.

Under Jones' proposal, students would have the option of participating in the Financial Literacy Passport program, which would start in the seventh grade. And it could be taken in lieu of the financial literacy class in high school.

Specific details of the program are still being worked out. But Shumway, who has been working with Jones on the legislation, said it would be a more hands-on approach that would include parental involvement.

Students could be required to start a savings account, keep personal budgets and get a close look at credit card use. Plus, they would get extra instruction in the classroom.

Under the bill educators would also be require to embed financial concepts into social studies and math courses, applying some of what is learned to financial principles.

The legislation would require $50,000 in ongoing funds for staff development and $100,000 one-time to develop formative assessments.

Jones said so far she has seen a lot of support for the idea.

"It's optional, specific and dealing with an issue that is very relevant nowadays," Jones said. "Another intention is there are a lot of parents who don't have these skills — parents will learn along with their children."

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E-mail: terickson@desnews.com