Financial literacy is one of the most important skills a child can learn. Two bills were introduced this session to ensure that every graduate of Nebraska’s schools has the skill set necessary to make responsible financial decisions. My bill, LB 327, added a one-semester personal finance class as a statewide graduation requirement. LB 327 was amended into Senator McKinney’s LB 452, which encourages age-appropriate financial literacy concepts to be taught at all levels of K-12 education. LB 452 passed near the end of session and was signed into law.

Passage of LB 327 and LB 452 are massive victories for personal finance education in Nebraska. Students graduating high school need to make one of the largest financial decisions of their life– whether to attend college or go into the workforce. According to the Federal Reserve, student loan debt in the United States is $1.7 trillion dollars. Now, students will be able to access an introduction to critical financial literacy fundamentals and will start off their lives as independent adults on better footing. 

The Nebraska State Treasurer’s Office also provides many helpful free financial literacy resources for students, teachers, and parents.

EVERFI’s is used by more than two million K-12 students and is available to Nebraska school districts and educators at no cost. The program uses game-based lessons to teach students life skills through fun, scenario-based learning and includes courses in Financial Literacy. You can reach this resource at: https://everfi.com/k-12/parent-remote-learning/.

The Nebraska NEST Financial Education Center provides a short, interactive learning experience that prepares Nebraskans with the right skills to manage their financial future. You can explore options on how to invest in your future, or you can review financial basics. This resource can be reached at https://nest.everfi-next.net/welcome/collegesavings-achieve.

With the passage of LB 452 and resources like EVERFI and NEST, we can be sure that our students are on the right path towards a successful financial future.

My tour of office hours and town halls will kick off at the start of July. I’ll be joining Governor Ricketts for a town hall in Nebraska City at the Lied Lodge at 3 p.m. on Thursday, July 1. This town hall will cover the Nebraska Department of Education’s controversial proposed sex education standards (which begin sex education at kindergarten) and how you can help stop them. I’ll also be hosting a town hall in Auburn at the Rural Impact Hub on Friday, July 2 at 5 p.m.. This town hall will wrap-up the 2021 legislative session and preview both the 2021 special redistricting session and 2022 legislative session. If you’d like to chat with me one-on-one about an issue, I’d encourage you to come to my office hours. This week, I’ll be holding office hours at Gospel Coffee in Brownville on July 2 from 3-4 p.m. I’ll be announcing more town hall stops and office hours across District 1 in the coming weeks and would encourage you to attend!

As always, I welcome your input on issues important to you. Follow along on my Facebook and Twitter pages, both entitled “Senator Julie Slama” for more updates, or contact me directly at Senator Julie Slama, District 1 State Capitol, PO Box 94604, Lincoln NE 68509-4604; telephone: 402-471-2733; email: jslama@leg.ne.gov.