Senate education panel approves amendment to require financial literacy inside existing high‑school courses

The Senate Education Committee voted 5-2 to adopt an amendment to House Bill 1192 that requires high‑school students be taught financial literacy as part of an existing required course, the committee recorded during its meeting.

Committee members and supporters said the amendment preserves local flexibility while ensuring students receive financial education. Opponents said they worried the language still functions as a graduation requirement and could be difficult for small or rural schools to schedule.

Senator Bridal said the change represents a compromise: "we have reached a fantastic compromise that does not require a separate course for financial literacy, but does require that a required course, teach financial literacy." Senator Lundin said she opposed the amendment because it "still has graduation requirement baked into it that I'm uncomfortable with, so I'll be a no vote." Senator Bridges emphasized there would be no additional paperwork tied to a student opting out of related items: "No forms, no tracking."

Discussion centered on three points: how the instruction would be delivered, whether the new requirement effectively became a graduation requirement, and administrative burdens for districts. Several senators said the amendment allows districts to place the required financial literacy content into a course that fits local schedules — for example, American government, consumer math, or a designated financial‑literacy unit inside another class — while a district could still choose to create a standalone course if it wished. Senator Marchman noted a teacher in Loveland who mixes the material into a financial algebra course as an example of local flexibility.

Committee members also flagged a technical detail for follow up with the state education agency. A committee member said, "The CDE had a question about the statute that was referenced because this is supposed to be for high school, and not for K through 8. So we're just gonna check that out, double check. And if we have to amend that, we can do that in another committee." That clarification will be handled in later drafting if needed.

After adopting the L 023 amendment, the committee voted to send House Bill 1192, as amended, to the Committee on Appropriations by a 5‑2 vote. The committee recorded five yes votes and two no votes on both the amendment and the motion to refer. No additional committee action on funding or implementation details was taken at the meeting.

Next steps: HB 1192 as amended goes to the Appropriations Committee for consideration of any fiscal impacts; the committee discussion did not set an implementation timeline.