Texas Administrative Code › Title 19 - EDUCATION › Part 2 - TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY › Chapter 113 - TEXAS ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS FOR SOCIAL STUDIES › Subchapter C - HIGH SCHOOL › Section 113.49 - Personal Financial Literacy (One-Half Credit), Adopted 2016

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) General requirements. This course is
				  recommended for students in Grades 10-12. Students shall be awarded one-half
				  credit for successful completion of this course.
(b) Introduction.
(1) Personal Financial Literacy will develop
				  citizens who have the knowledge and skills to make sound, informed financial
				  decisions that will allow them to lead financially secure lifestyles and
				  understand personal financial responsibility. The knowledge gained in this
				  course has far-reaching effects for students personally as well as the economy
				  as a whole. When citizens make wise financial decisions, they gain
				  opportunities to invest in themselves, build businesses, consume goods and
				  services in a responsible way, and secure a future without depending on outside
				  assistance. The economy benefits from the optimal use of resources, increased
				  consumption, and strong local businesses. State and local governments benefit
				  with steady revenue streams and reduced future obligations as our society
				  ages.
(2) Personal Financial
				  Literacy is designed to be an interactive and research-based course. The course
				  will teach students to apply critical-thinking and problem-solving skills to
				  analyze decisions involving earning and spending, saving and investing, credit
				  and borrowing, insuring and protecting, and college and postsecondary education
				  and training. There are many references to conducting a cost-benefit analysis
				  for spending and investing decisions. Students evaluate the necessity of the
				  purchase, the quality or value of the purchase or investment compared to other
				  alternatives, and the total cost of acquisition, particularly in the context of
				  financing options. Students also understand the power of both compound growth
				  on investments and compound interest on debt and how these concepts affect the
				  ability to build wealth over time.
(3) This one-half elective credit course
				  includes instruction in methods of paying for college and other postsecondary
				  education and training along with completing the application for federal
				  student aid provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Students analyze the
				  relationship between education and training and earnings potential; evaluate
				  the quality of potential college, postsecondary education, and training
				  courses; evaluate the total cost of these programs; and analyze the advantages
				  and disadvantages of various sources of funds to pay for their
				  education.
(4) Students understand
				  that a constitutional republic is a representative form of government whose
				  representatives derive their authority from the consent of the governed, serve
				  for an established tenure, and are sworn to uphold the constitution.
(5) State and federal laws mandate a variety
				  of celebrations and observances, including Celebrate Freedom Week.
(A) Each social studies class shall include,
				  during Celebrate Freedom Week as provided under the Texas Education Code,
				  §
												29.907, or
				  during another full school week as determined by the board of trustees of a
				  school district, appropriate instruction concerning the intent, meaning, and
				  importance of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution,
				  including the Bill of Rights, in their historical contexts. The study of the
				  Declaration of Independence must include the study of the relationship of the
				  ideas expressed in that document to subsequent American history, including the
				  relationship of its ideas to the rich diversity of our people as a nation of
				  immigrants, the American Revolution, the formulation of the U.S. Constitution,
				  and the abolitionist movement, which led to the Emancipation Proclamation and
				  the women's suffrage movement.
(B)
				  Each school district shall require that, during Celebrate Freedom Week or other
				  week of instruction prescribed under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph,
				  students in Grades 3-12 study and recite the following text: "We hold these
				  Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are
				  endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
				  Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness--That to secure these Rights,
				  Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just Powers from the
				  Consent of the Governed."
(6) Students identify and discuss how the
				  actions of U.S. citizens and the local, state, and federal governments have
				  either met or failed to meet the ideals espoused in the founding
				  documents.
(7) Statements that
				  contain the word "including" reference content that must be mastered, while
				  those containing the phrase "such as" are intended as possible illustrative
				  examples.