WHEREAS, money management is a lifelong issue; and

WHEREAS, few students in Hawaii's public schools are taught the basic concepts of financial literacy; and

WHEREAS, within a lifetime, a person may likely need to manage student and credit card debt, save for a wedding, save for a down payment on a home purchase, and save for retirement; and

WHEREAS, due to the power of compounding interest, these large expenditures are best managed as early as possible; and

WHEREAS, work- and money-related stress affects marriages, families, friendships, health, job satisfaction, and individual self-worth and self-esteem; and

WHEREAS, financial literacy is one of the most important skills to help individuals leave poverty; and

WHEREAS, financial literacy teaches young people how to think critically, forces discipline and organization, helps quantify future goals in a practical way, and demonstrates the importance of trade-offs which encourages thoughtful and informed decisions; and

WHEREAS, teaching personal finance concepts to young people can help spark an interest in fields such as business and entrepreneurship; and

WHEREAS, although many agree about the importance of financial literacy education for all students, certain issues and challenges need to be addressed before a program can be implemented in Hawaii public schools such as legal and cultural concerns, identification of a curriculum, time devoted to teaching, acquiring financial resources, and obtaining trained and qualified financial literacy teachers; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Education is requested to establish a Hawaii public schools financial literacy task force; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Superintendent of Education or the Superintendent's designee serve as the chair of the task force at the initial meeting to be held no later than August 14, 2015, at which time the chair of the task force shall be elected; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to comprise of the following individuals:

(1) The President of the Hawaii State Teachers Association or the President's designee;

(2) Three individuals with experience as a teacher, vice-principal, or principal to be chosen by the Superintendent of Education;

(3) Three individuals from financial institutions to be chosen by the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education; and

(4) Three individuals to serve as at-large members to be chosen by the Chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Education; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to:

(1) Consider the importance and challenges of implementing financial literacy education for all public school students through a Department of Education curriculum chosen with input from industry experts, such as education regulators, administrators, teachers, and advocates;

(2) Develop recommendations and a process for requiring every public school student to participate in a financial literacy course prior to graduating from high school;

(3) Identify and address legal and cultural concerns about teaching financial literacy education;

(4) Determine the depth and breadth of financial literacy education students should receive;

(5) Identify existing programs within Department of Education schools and what financial literacy curriculum currently exists;

(6) Determine the amount of time required for each student's participation in financial literacy education;

(7) Identify the best and most relevant curriculum for students to understand, apply, and retain the concepts of financial literacy;

(8) Develop a plan to obtain the required financial and political support, such as trained teachers, to teach the selected curriculum;

(9) Develop data metrics to determine the effectiveness of the financial literacy curriculum among students over time;

(10) Develop a process for making adjustments based upon the data metrics; and

(11) Identify any other issues that need to be addressed, as determined by the task force; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of the task force are requested to serve without compensation; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit a report, prepared by the Department of Education, of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2016; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be dissolved on June 30, 2016; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Superintendent of Education and President of the Hawaii State Teachers Association.

Report Title:

Financial Literacy; Public Schools; Task Force

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	97
TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII