A Senate committee adopted an amendment to Senate Bill 283 expanding the grade levels in which a personal finance course may be taken and count toward the high school graduation requirement, and the committee voted to report the bill to the full Senate with a do-pass recommendation.

Committee counsel explained the bill would allow the personal finance course to be taken in ninth or tenth grade in addition to the current eleventh or twelfth grade options. "This bill expands the grade levels that the course of study in personal finance can be completed in for the purpose of counting towards satisfying, the personal finance course requirement for high school graduation," Hank, committee counsel, said.

Senators raised practical questions about students who previously took the course in ninth or tenth grade and whether those earlier credits would count. The senator from Greenbrier asked, "Will this fix that problem for the ninth and tenth graders that have may have already taken this course in the past year?" Counsel said the bill as drafted did not expressly say it would be retroactive and identified that as "one of those kind of gray areas." The senator from Greenbrier offered an amendment to make the grade-level expansion apply retroactively so that students who already completed the course in ninth or tenth grade may have the credit count toward graduation; the amendment was adopted by voice vote.

Senators also asked whether expanding the course to earlier grades would create an unfunded mandate by forcing districts to hire additional teachers; counsel said he did not see a requirement that would force hiring. Supporters said the change would give schools greater scheduling flexibility and ease pressure on seniors.

The vice chair moved that the amended bill be reported to the full Senate with a recommendation that it pass; the motion carried by voice vote. The transcript includes no roll-call tallies.