SPRINGFIELD (WGEM) – High schoolers in Illinois may soon be required to take a financial literacy course. The state Senate unanimously passed a bill Wednesday requiring students learn the basic concepts of financial literacy and economics.

Students would learn about the concepts of supply and demand, how money is budgeted, managed, saved and spent, as well as what happens when they take out a loan and the cost of a payday loan.

“I’d like for Illinois to one of the states to join in in ensuring that our young people understand finances, that they do not leave high school and arrive in college and begin to make poor choices with their financial future,” said Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, D-Maywood, the bill’s Senate sponsor.

The state House of Representatives passed the bill with near unanimous support on March 24, 2023. The Senate, however, adopted an amendment changing the bill, which requires it to go back to the House.

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