Proposed bill to require Arizona high schoolers to take personal finance [Video]

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — Should high school students learn about investing and saving for retirement? Right now, a bill is moving through the state legislature would require Arizona high school students to take a personal finance course as a graduation requirement.

Republican Senator J.D. Mesnard is the bill’s sponsor. He says this is necessary so when “you’re heading out into the real world, postgraduation, that you know what you’re doing when you’re facing decisions like student loans, credit cards, etc.”

High school students would learn about investing, budgeting, paying bills, retirement planning and more in the semester-long course. State Sen. Mesnard says this potential new high school requirement wouldn’t increase the number of credits students need to graduate.

“I took you know, all the way through calculus, differential equations, etc. But none of that’s been useful in my professional life. I’ve never tried to use calculus for anything. I never had any kind of financial literacy training. …