SECTION 210:15-3-198. Overview of Personal Financial Literacy for Grades 7-12

(a)   Personal Financial Literacy is designed for students in grades 7-12. These standards of learning are priority, essential, and necessary for all Oklahoma students. Learning the ideas, concepts, knowledge, and skills will enable students to implement personal financial decision-making skills; to become wise and knowledgeable consumers, savers, investors, users of credit, money managers, and to be participating members of a global workforce and society.

(b)   The intent of personal financial literacy education is to inform students how individual choices directly influence occupational goals and future earnings potential. Effective money management is a disciplined behavior and much easier when learned earlier in life. The fourteen areas of instruction designated in the PASSPORT TO FINANCIAL LITERACY ACT OF 2007 (70 O.S. § 11-103.6h) are designed to provide students with the basic skills and knowledge needed to effectively manage their personal finances. Basic economic concepts of scarcity, choice, opportunity cost, and cost/benefit analysis are interwoven throughout the standards and objectives. This systematic way of making personal financial decisions will provide students a foundational understanding for making informed personal financial decisions.

(c)   Real world topics covered by these standards include the following:

(1)   Earning an income;

(2)   Understanding state and federal taxes;

(3)   Banking and financial institutions;

(4)   Balancing a checkbook;

(5)   Savings and investing;

(6)   Planning for retirement;

(7)   Understanding loans and borrowing money, including predatory lending and payday loans;

(8)   Understanding interest, credit card debt, and online commerce;

(9)   Identify fraud and theft;

(10)   Rights and responsibilities of renting or buying a home;

(11)   Understanding insurance;

(12)   Understanding the financial impact and consequences of gambling;

(13)   Bankruptcy; and

(14)   Charitable giving.

(d)   The examples in parentheses (e.g., the relationship between interest rates and credit scores) are provided in various places within the standards and objectives in order to explain more clearly, what is intended to be taught in regards to that standard or objective. The examples are only suggestions of what specific content should be used to help teach the concept, knowledge, and/or skill. The examples are not all inclusive. Classroom instruction should include the suggested examples but should not be limited to just those specific suggestions.

(e)   All personal financial literacy standards and objectives must be taught and assessed by the local district.

(f)   Book icons identify Information Literacy skills. Students are best served when these are taught in collaboration and cooperation between the classroom teacher and the library media specialist.

(g)   Included in this publication is a suggested list of basic academic personal financial literacy terms. This suggested list is provided in order to help students continue building their basic academic vocabulary.

(h)   Personal finance terms used here appear with appropriate definitions and examples at the end of this section of PASS in the glossary.

[Source: Added at 25 Ok Reg 725, eff 1-28-08 (emergency); Added at 25 Ok Reg 1574, eff 6-12-08]