A bill filed for the upcoming legislative session would require high school juniors and seniors to complete a Financial Literacy course to graduate from high school and qualify for TOPS. The author of House Bill 103, Hammond Representative Nicholas Muscarello says this has been on his radar for some time.
“We’ll be one of the few states in the nation that have started this. It’s a growing trend so I’ve been monitoring and studying this for about two years,” said Muscarello.
The current curriculum requires students to complete at least four mathematics credits. Muscarello has been working with Superintendent of Education – Dr. Cade Brumley on the content components and says this will move students towards being fiscally responsible.
“What this bill does is teach eleventh and twelfth graders savings account, loan applications – things they are not currently getting,” said Muscarello.
The proposed law would be added as part of the qualifications for TOPS and TOPS Tech awards which apply to graduates of public and nonpublic schools. Muscarello says twenty-five states have already implemented this requirement in their curriculum and he’s hopeful Louisiana will be added to that list.
“I feel like we’re going to be in a good position to get this through but I’m going to continue to work the bill to make sure we can push this through,” said Muscarello.
The legislative session begins on April 10.
Muscarello made the comments while talking with WWL’s Tommy Tucker. You can here the interview here.
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