Florida high school students would learn ‘life skills' if student-led bill passes
Leon High School in Tallahassee on July 21, 2022. (Photo by Danielle J. Brown/Florida Phoenix)
Students helped write and present a bill to expand 'life skills' Floridians would have to learn to graduate from high school.
Hillsborough high school students helped introduce HB 1261 with Rep. Susan Valdes. It would require instruction in tasks such as writing a check, creating a personal budget, understanding how credit cards work, how to file tax returns, obtaining property insurance, and how to apply for 'different types of loans.'
'This is a direct response to our students' voices,' Valdes said Thursday during a meeting of the Careers & Workforce subcommittee. 'They are asking for an education that goes beyond the textbook, one that prepares them for the challenges and opportunities they will face in their adult life.'
The bill would add on to graduation requirements already in law such as learning about personal bank accounts, credit scores, simple contracts, and state and federal finance laws. The requirements would be added to the half-credit personal financial literacy course created by SB 1054 in 2022.
Laraina Fernandez, a student at Jefferson High School in Tampa, stood in front of lawmakers during her spring break to advocate for the bill.
'The focus of our bill is students progressing in life after high school because we are not taught everything that we need to be sitting in the chairs that you all are now,' Fernandez said.
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The expanded graduation requirement also would include creating a resume, applying for scholarships, 'critical thinking and decision making,' 'practical knowledge' such as changing a tire or 'performing home maintenance,' and how to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
Student Genesis Salcedolima said employment rates and college performance could improve if the bill passes.
'We have worked so hard, I mean hours during school, we've had to get called out of class, coming down to work on it after school, having to FaceTime one another, video call, it was a lot of work but we are very, very passionate,' Salcedolima said.
Sen. Jay Collins is leading the Senate version of the bill, SB 1530, which is in the Education PreK-12 Appropriations Committee but has not yet been added to its agenda.
The bill would take effect July 1.
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