NURIA MARTINEZ-KEEL OKLAHOMA VOICE
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma lawmakers revived a bill on Tuesday that would change requirements for financial literacy education.
Under House Bill 2158, students would have to take a half-unit of financial literacy in 10th, 11th or 12th grade to graduate from high school. Credit scores, mortgage loans, escrow and online banking would be added to the list of required financial literacy topics.
Schools could teach personal finance in a semester-long course or incorporate the required concepts into other classes.
State law already requires students to learn personal finance topics, like understanding taxes and credit card debt, at any point between seventh and 12th grade.
Rep. Dick Lowe, RAmber, filed the bill in 2023 to add mandatory topics and limit the instruction to the final three years of high school.
“Honestly if we’re teaching it at only one time from the seventh, eighth, ninth grade, we’re probably not ready to retain this important information,” Lowe said during a 2023 committee hearing.
HB 2158 passed the state House last year with overwhelming support, but it came to a standstill in the Senate.
More than a year later, the Senate finally heard the bill in its Education Committee, where it passed unanimously. HB 2158 will advance to the full Senate for further consideration.
The bill’s Senate author, Sen. Brenda Stanley, R-Midwest City, said during Tuesday’s hearing the measure isn’t meant to supplant any other high school subjects.
“It could be easily integrated into other courses, such as civics or history or agriculture,” Stanley said. “I could see it being added in many places in the curriculum.”
If signed into law, the bill would take effect July 1, 2025, and would apply to students starting high school in the 2025-26 school year.
Oklahoma Voice (oklahomavoice.com) is an affiliate of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, supported by grants and donations. Oklahoma Voice provides nonpartisan reporting, and retains full editorial independence.
