Second Regular Session

Sixty-first General Assembly

LLS NO. R98­0815.01 LAG

STATE OF COLORADO

BY SENATOR BLICKENSDERFER;

also REPRESENTATIVE SCHAUER.

SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION 98-030

REGARDING ECONOMIC EDUCATION.

WHEREAS, According to a recent Gallup poll, the American public, high school seniors, and college seniors show widespread ignorance of basic economics that is necessary for understanding national and world events and changes in the national economy; and

WHEREAS, When asked questions about current economic issues and personal finance, only 35 percent of high school seniors, 39 percent of the general public, and 51 percent of college seniors gave correct answers; and

WHEREAS, This lack of understanding of basic economic concepts comes at a time when economics pervades issues of public policy debates such as the budget deficit and health care reform; and

WHEREAS, Economic education provides a vital framework within which to make personal economic decisions, to analyze current issues and public policies, and to understand the complex relationships among economic, political, and cultural systems; and

WHEREAS, The Colorado model content standards for economics, drafted pursuant to sections 22­7­405, 22­7­406, and 22­7­407, Colorado Revised Statutes, outline the goal for students, by the time they graduate from high school, to understand economics well enough to make reasoned judgments about both personal economic questions and broader questions of economic policy in a complex and changing world; and

WHEREAS, Students specifically need an understanding of basic economic concepts in order to become competent decision­makers throughout their lives, effective participants in an international economy, productive members of the work force, and responsible citizens; and

WHEREAS, For students to achieve the levels of understanding outlined in the economic standards, it is necessary to include the core economic concepts within Kindergarten through twelfth grade education, social studies curriculum, and particularly in the context of history, geography, and civics; now, therefore,

Be It Resolved by the Senate of the Sixty­first General Assembly of the State of Colorado, the House of Representatives concurring herein:

That the study of economics be recognized as an essential subject in the education of Kindergarten through twelfth grade students to help raise the quality of economic education in America's schools so that students can fully and effectively participate in the complex global economy they will inherit.

Be It Further Resolved, That the Colorado General Assembly urges the state Board of Education to approve model content standards for economics as soon as possible so that students can be better informed consumers, savers, producers, investors, and citizens.