State Senate OKs Loughran Cappel’s bill to improve financial literacy among students

The Illinois Senate passed Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel’s bill aimed at bolstering financial literacy among students.

The legislation, Senate Bill 1830, would allow either one year, or a semester, of a financial literacy course to count toward a student’s social studies requirement for graduation from high school, according to a news release.

“The existing gap between students who feel prepared to do their own taxes or make investments and those who do not is glaring,” Loughran Cappel, D-Shorewood, said in the release. “Making sure students have the ability to learn real-life skills that are applicable in adulthood needs to be a priority.”

The senator cited a study that found that of those who attended college, only 41% said they received enough information in college to build good financial habits. Only 30% said the same for their high school education. When asked what they wish they had learned more about in school, financial topics were at the top of the list.

“It’s clear that we need to do more to provide our kids with incentives to take classes that can pay dividends for the rest of their adult lives,” Loughran Cappel said in the release.

The bill now goes to the Illinois House of Representatives.