• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / Education / Lawmakers consider requiring class on financial skills

Lawmakers consider requiring class on financial skills

February 19, 2008 By admin

Iowa legislators are considering a new requirement that Iowa high schoolers must take a course that teaches personal financial skills. Representative Tom Sands, a Republican from Columbus Junction, is also a banker. Sands says he encounters too many people who lack basic knowledge about saving or budgeting their own money.

"I deal with financial literacy everyday…and we really have a huge problem in this country with our financial illiteracy," Sands says. Bankers like Sands have gotten behind the idea of requiring a course in Iowa high schools that teaches students the basics about personal finances. But Jeff Berger of the Iowa Department of Education warns schools would find it difficult to teach such a course.

"When you start talking about course mandates in terms of units, you get into conversations about whether or not you have licensed staff to teach those things, what gets moved around in terms of time allocation," Berger says. The bill requires each high school student to earn one half credit in financial literacy to graduate.

Berger suggests including the topic in other high school courses without requiring that schools like up a whole new class on personal financial skills. Sands, the legislator, is vice president of Columbus Junction State Bank. He says Iowa bankers already volunteer in the schools to teach students about budgeting and other finance basics.

"They go into the schools and talk about the importance of saving and compounding dollars, and will speak at all different levels of the grades but that isn’t enough and an hour a year isn’t enough," Sands says. The topic was discussed yesterday (Monday) at the statehouse, but the bill to require that Iowa high schools teach course on financial literacy has not made it beyond even a subcommittee at this point. 

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Education Tagged With: Legislature

Featured Stories

Governor signs Iowa Renewable Fuels Standard into law

Jury returns guilty verdict in shooting death of State Trooper

A haboob, a dust storm black out, hits northwest Iowa

Summit has easements for 20% of carbon pipeline route through Iowa

Morel mushroom hunters on hold without warmer conditions

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Iowa Special Olympics Summer games set to open in Ames

Radio Iowa/Baseball Coaches Association High School Poll 5/16/22

Iowa assistant coach Kirk Speraw to retire

Northern Iowa prepares for Missouri Valley Conference softball tournament

T.J. Otzelberger announces staff changes at Iowa State

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2022 ยท Learfield News & Ag, LLC