(1) The general assembly finds that: (a) Life skills such as the ability to formulate a household budget, balance a checking account, read and understand the terms and conditions of a credit card, and otherwise manage personal finances are critical to a person's success in today's economy; (b) In February and March of 2000, in a survey of high school seniors designed to test their knowledge of personal finance basics, the students answered only fifty-one and nine tenths percent of the questions correctly, receiving a failing grade; (c) Many students graduate from high school without having learned crucial personal financial management skills, although many have already obtained their first credit cards; (d) Studies of consumer finances by the federal reserve board show that, at the end of 2020, household debt in the United States totaled over fourteen and one-half trillion dollars. Over one and one-half trillion dollars of this debt is student debt, over eight hundred billion dollars is credit card debt, and over ten trillion dollars is mortgage debt. (e) With the growth in consumer debt and the apparently low level of education and understanding with regard to personal finances, it is imperative that the public schools of the state provide students with a thorough, high-quality curriculum of financial literacy to enable students to understand and master personal finance skills, including, at a minimum, managing bank accounts; household budgeting; understanding and managing personal debt, including credit card debt and student loan debt; and managing personal savings, retirement savings, homeownership, and investments. (2) As used in this section, "financial literacy" means knowledge of personal finances that is sufficient to enable a person to manage savings, investment, and checking accounts; to design and maintain a household budget; to assess the affordability of and how to budget for postsecondary education; to understand the purpose of and how to access and complete the free application for federal student aid and the Colorado application for state financial aid, or successor forms for accessing federal and state financial aid; to manage personal debt, including student loan debt; to understand consumer credit and finance; to manage personal credit options, including credit cards; to understand and select from among short-term and long-term investment options; to understand the home buying process, including home loans and managing mortgage debt; and to understand retirement plans, tax-deferred accounts, pensions, and government retirement benefits. (3) (a) Each school district board of education is strongly encouraged to adopt curriculum pertaining to financial literacy to be taught in grade-appropriate courses at the elementary, middle, junior high, and high school grade levels. When selecting mathematics and economics textbooks, each school district is strongly encouraged to select those texts that include substantive provisions on personal finance, including personal budgeting; credit; debt management; student loan borrowing and financial aid; homeownership; retirement, including long-term investments, tax-deferred accounts, pensions, and government retirement benefits; and similar personal finance topics. (b) The curriculum described in subsection (3)(a) of this section must also include content relating to how to assess the affordability of and budget for different options for obtaining a postsecondary degree or credential and how to pay for higher education. The curriculum should familiarize students with the process and necessary forms for applying for federal and state financial aid, student loans, scholarships, and grant programs, including accessing and completing either the free application for federal student aid or the Colorado application for state financial aid, or successor forms to access federal and state financial aid, and should ensure that students have an awareness of federal and state programs that may be available to manage student loan debt. (4) Each school district board of education is further encouraged to adopt successful completion of a course in financial literacy as a graduation requirement.
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