2
3
4
5
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill amends provisions related to education loan information.
10 Highlighted Provisions:
11 This bill:
12 ▸ defines terms;
13 ▸ adds a representative of the State Board of Regents to a task force that makes
14 recommendations related to financial literacy education;
15 ▸ requires an eligible postsecondary institution to provide information regarding a
16 borrower's education loans to the borrower;
17 ▸ provides that an eligible postsecondary institution does not incur liability for
18 information provided to a borrower regarding the borrower's education loans; and
19 ▸ requires the State Board of Regents to report to the Education Interim Committee on
20 the feasability of providing certain information about an education loan to a
21 borrower.
22 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
23 None
24 Other Special Clauses:
25 None
26 Utah Code Sections Affected:
27 AMENDS:
28 53A-13-110, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 415
29 ENACTS:
30 53B-1-112, Utah Code Annotated 1953
31
32 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
33 Section 1. Section 53A-13-110 is amended to read:
34 53A-13-110. Financial and economic literacy education.
35 (1) As used in this section:
36 (a) "Financial and economic activities" include activities related to the topics listed in
37 Subsection (1)(b).
38 (b) "Financial and economic literacy concepts" include concepts related to the
39 following topics:
40 (i) basic budgeting;
41 (ii) saving and financial investments;
42 (iii) banking and financial services, including balancing a checkbook or a bank account
43 and online banking services;
44 (iv) career management, including earning an income;
45 (v) rights and responsibilities of renting or buying a home;
46 (vi) retirement planning;
47 (vii) loans and borrowing money, including interest, credit card debt, predatory
48 lending, and payday loans;
49 (viii) insurance;
50 (ix) federal, state, and local taxes;
51 (x) charitable giving;
52 (xi) online commerce;
53 (xii) identity fraud and theft;
54 (xiii) negative financial consequences of gambling;
55 (xiv) bankruptcy;
56 (xv) free markets and prices;
57 (xvi) supply and demand;
58 (xvii) monetary and fiscal policy;
59 (xviii) effective business plan creation, including using economic analysis in creating a
60 plan;
61 (xix) scarcity and choices;
62 (xx) opportunity cost and tradeoffs;
63 (xxi) productivity;
64 (xxii) entrepreneurism; and
65 (xxiii) economic reasoning.
66 (c) "Financial and economic literacy passport" means a document that tracks mastery
67 of financial and economic literacy concepts and completion of financial and economic
68 activities in kindergarten through grade 12.
69 (d) "General financial literacy course" means the course of instruction described in
70 Section 53A-13-108.
71 (2) The State Board of Education shall:
72 (a) in cooperation with interested private and nonprofit entities:
73 (i) develop a financial and economic literacy passport that students may elect to
74 complete;
75 (ii) develop methods of encouraging parent and educator involvement in completion of
76 the financial and economic literacy passport; and
77 (iii) develop and implement appropriate recognition and incentives for students who
78 complete the financial and economic literacy passport, including:
79 (A) a financial and economic literacy endorsement on the student's diploma of
80 graduation;
81 (B) a specific designation on the student's official transcript; and
82 (C) any incentives offered by community partners;
83 (b) more fully integrate existing and new financial and economic literacy education
84 into instruction in kindergarten through grade 12 by:
85 (i) coordinating financial and economic literacy instruction with existing instruction in
86 other areas of the core standards for Utah public schools, such as mathematics and social
87 studies;
88 (ii) using curriculum mapping;
89 (iii) creating training materials and staff development programs that:
90 (A) highlight areas of potential coordination between financial and economic literacy
91 education and other core standards for Utah public schools concepts; and
92 (B) demonstrate specific examples of financial and economic literacy concepts as a
93 way of teaching other core standards for Utah public schools concepts; and
94 (iv) using appropriate financial and economic literacy assessments to improve financial
95 and economic literacy education and, if necessary, developing assessments;
96 (c) work with interested public, private, and nonprofit entities to:
97 (i) identify, and make available to teachers, online resources for financial and
98 economic literacy education, including modules with interactive activities and turnkey
99 instructor resources;
100 (ii) coordinate school use of existing financial and economic literacy education
101 resources;
102 (iii) develop simple, clear, and consistent messaging to reinforce and link existing
103 financial literacy resources;
104 (iv) coordinate the efforts of school, work, private, nonprofit, and other financial
105 education providers in implementing methods of appropriately communicating to teachers,
106 students, and parents key financial and economic literacy messages; and
107 (v) encourage parents and students to establish higher education savings, including a
108 Utah Educational Savings Plan account;
109 (d) in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act,
110 make rules to develop guidelines and methods for school districts and charter schools to more
111 fully integrate financial and economic literacy education into other core standards for Utah
112 public schools courses;
113 (e) (i) contract with a provider, through a request for proposals process, to develop an
114 online, end-of-course assessment for the general financial literacy course;
115 (ii) require a school district or charter school to administer an online, end-of-course
116 assessment to a student who takes the general financial literacy course; and
117 (iii) develop a plan, through the state superintendent of public instruction, to analyze
118 the results of an online, end-of-course assessment in general financial literacy that includes:
119 (A) an analysis of assessment results by standard; and
120 (B) average scores statewide and by school district and school;
121 (f) in cooperation with school districts, charter schools, and interested private and
122 nonprofit entities, provide opportunities for professional development in financial and
123 economic literacy to teachers, including:
124 (i) a statewide learning community for financial and economic literacy;
125 (ii) summer workshops; and
126 (iii) online videos of experts in the field of financial and economic literacy education;
127 and
128 (g) implement a teacher endorsement in general financial literacy that includes course
129 work in financial planning, credit and investing, consumer economics, personal budgeting, and
130 family economics.
131 (3) A public school shall provide the following to the parents or guardian of a
132 kindergarten student during kindergarten enrollment:
133 (a) a financial and economic literacy passport; and
134 (b) information about higher education savings options, including information about
135 opening a Utah Educational Savings Plan account.
136 (4) (a) The State Board of Education shall establish a task force to study and make
137 recommendations to the board on how to improve financial and economic literacy education in
138 the public school system.
139 (b) The task force membership shall include representatives of:
140 (i) the State Board of Education;
141 (ii) school districts and charter schools; [
142 (iii) the State Board of Regents; and
143 [
144 commitment to empower individuals and families to achieve economic stability, opportunity,
145 and upward mobility.
146 (c) In 2013, the task force shall:
147 (i) review and recommend modifications to the course standards and objectives of the
148 general financial literacy course described in Section 53A-13-108 to ensure the course
149 standards and objectives reflect current and relevant content consistent with the financial and
150 economic literacy concepts listed in Subsection (1)(b);
151 (ii) study the development of an online assessment of students' competency in financial
152 and economic literacy that may be used to:
153 (A) measure student learning growth and proficiency in financial and economic
154 literacy; and
155 (B) assess the effectiveness of instruction in financial and economic literacy;
156 (iii) consider the development of a rigorous, online only, course to fulfill the general
157 financial literacy curriculum and graduation requirements specified in Section 53A-13-108;
158 (iv) identify opportunities for teaching financial and economic literacy through an
159 integrated school curriculum and in the regular course of school work;
160 (v) study and make recommendations for educator license endorsements for teachers of
161 financial and economic literacy;
162 (vi) identify efficient and cost-effective methods of delivering professional
163 development in financial and economic literacy content and instructional methods; and
164 (vii) study how financial and economic literacy education may be enhanced through
165 community partnerships.
166 (d) The task force shall reconvene every three years to review and recommend
167 adjustments to the standards and objectives of the general financial literacy course.
168 (e) The State Board of Education shall make a report to the Education Interim
169 Committee no later than the committee's November 2013 meeting summarizing the findings
170 and recommendations of the task force and actions taken by the board in response to the task
171 force's findings and recommendations.
172 Section 2. Section 53B-1-112 is enacted to read:
173 53B-1-112. Education loan notifications.
174 (1) As used in this section:
175 (a) "Borrower" means:
176 (i) an individual enrolled in an eligible postsecondary institution who receives an
177 education loan; or
178 (ii) an individual, including a parent or legal guardian, who receives an education loan
179 to fund education expenses of an individual enrolled in an eligible postsecondary institution.
180 (b) "Education loan" means a loan made to a borrower that is:
181 (i) made directly by a federal or state program; or
182 (ii) insured or guaranteed under a federal or state program.
183 (c) "Eligible postsecondary institution" means a public or private postsecondary
184 institution that:
185 (i) is located in Utah; and
186 (ii) participates in federal student assistance programs under the Higher Education Act
187 of 1965, Title IV, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 1070 et seq.
188 (2) Annually, on or before July 1, an eligible postsecondary institution that receives
189 information about a borrower's education loan shall:
190 (a) notify the borrower that the borrower has an education loan;
191 (b) direct the borrower to the National Student Loan Data System described in 20
192 U.S.C. Sec. 1092b to receive information about the borrower's education loan; and
193 (c) provide the borrower information on how the borrower can access an online
194 repayment calculator.
195 (3) An eligible postsecondary institution does not incur liability for information
196 provided to a borrower in accordance with this section.
197 (4) On or before the October 2017 interim meeting, the State Board of Regents shall
198 report to the Education Interim Committee on:
199 (a) the number of notifications issued under Subsection (2); and
200 (b) the feasibility of an eligible postsecondary institution providing annually to each
201 borrower:
202 (i) an estimate of the total dollar amount of education loans taken out by the borrower;
203 and
204 (ii) for the estimated dollar amount of education loans that the borrower has taken out,
205 an estimate of:
206 (A) the potential total payoff amount, including principal and interest;
207 (B) the monthly repayment amounts, including principal and interest, that the borrower
208 may incur;
209 (C) the number of years used in determining the potential payoff amount; and
210 (D) the percentage of the aggregate borrowing limit the borrower has reached.