SR1069 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1069 LRB101 16730 LAW 66119 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Financial literacy is an important life skill that can greatly benefit all Illinois residents; and

WHEREAS, The need for learning good personal financial habits has never been greater, as nearly two-thirds of American adults cannot pass a basic financial literacy test; one in four adults do not pay their bills on time, and 48% of millennials report living paycheck to paycheck; and

WHEREAS, Problems, such as existing debt and bad credit history, and the majority (80%) of roadblocks for potential homeowners can be solved with better financial literacy education; and

WHEREAS, It is imperative that we teach children good personal financial habits so they are more likely to show positive financial behaviors and skills later in life, such as paying off credit cards each month, saving for retirement, and refraining from making compulsive purchases; and

WHEREAS, Children should be taught financial literacy skills at a young age, and all schools in Illinois should have access to high quality, standards-based curriculum to teach these important life skills; and

WHEREAS, Revised Social Studies Standards, which included economics and financial literacy standards for the first time, were adopted in 2015 by the Illinois State Board of Education and approved by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules in 2016; and

WHEREAS, It is the goal of the State Treasurer's Office to provide programs, services, and curriculum to teachers and school districts that satisfy these new standards and provide financial education to children throughout the State; and

WHEREAS, The State Treasurer's Office has partnered with the Illinois Council on Economic Education, which is commonly referred to as Econ Illinois, to develop an interdisciplinary, standards-based curriculum for teaching financial literacy in first through eighth grades, called Money Minded Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Econ Illinois is a nonprofit that has specialized in financial education for over 65 years and impacts 130,000 students through their programming; and

WHEREAS, This new curriculum is free to any Illinois teacher or school district and has distinct units for each grade level that use informative and engaging activities to teach students about a variety of financial topics; and

WHEREAS, The State Treasurer's Office, alongside Econ Illinois, hopes to help Illinoisans avoid pitfalls and problems that come with a lack of financial literacy and to help promote good personal financial habits through our standards-based curriculum; and

WHEREAS, Teaching financial literacy skills will allow Illinois residents to save for the future, pay down already accrued debt, prevent future debt, and enjoy a better quality of life, while creating informed communities and an improved economy in Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare April 2020 as Financial Literacy Month in the State of Illinois in order to raise awareness of free financial literacy programs, such as Money Minded Illinois, which will help to ensure that every child throughout the State has access to high quality financial education; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the State Treasurer's Office, the Illinois State Board of Education, and the Illinois Council on Economic Education.