A bill aimed at giving students a firm base in financial literacy cleared the Senate Education committee unanimously Monday.

SB61 would create an optional K-12 financial literacy track that would familiarize students with the facts of finances and arm students with skills to help them sidestep pitfalls like bankruptcy, foreclosure and identity theft down the road.

The measure would require education leaders to integrate financial concepts into the curriculum, including basic budgeting, saving, financial investments, balancing a checkbook or a bank account, rights and responsibilities of renting or buying a home, retirement planning, loans and borrowing money, interest, credit card debt, predatory lending, payday loans, taxes, fraud and gambling.

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 state education leaders say one semester may not be enough.

Preston Cochrane, president and CEO of AAA Fair Credit, a nonprofit financial counseling and education organization, said he has seen a high number of young people needing help with bankruptcies and mortgage foreclosures in the state.

"As we see clients are getting younger and younger it's alarming and we always hear 'I wish someone would have told me how this all works,"' Cochrane said. "This bill is much needed and long overdue."

The legislation would require $100,000 in ongoing funds for staff development and $150,000 one-time to develop formative assessments and materials.

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