Rep. Joan Nass, (R-Acton), sees a clear path to some solutions to many of society’s problems. That path, she said, leads through high school classrooms.
For the second year in a row, Nass is sponsoring a bill that would strongly urge public schools to teach what she calls “critical life skills” to young people.
“With these economic times, this is the time to make sure our citizens know how to do life skills,” said Nass, herself a life-long educator. “People don’t know how to set aside money for future goals. People don’t know dietary guidelines or how to use coupons. People need to learn these things.”
Obesity, bankruptcy, homelessness, poor parenting, and credit card debt are just a few of society’s ills that could be addressed through public school education, Nass said. Her bill seeks to make inclusion of life skills in the Learning Results a strong recommendation for educators, but not a mandate.
Last year’s bill, “An Act to Include Family Life Skills in the System of Learning Results,” died in the Legislature’s Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs by a unanimous vote because it would have cost money to implement the change in the learning results, said Sen. Peter Bowman (D-Kittery), who was then the Senate chairman of the committee.
Bowman said any bill that requires new spending faces added scrutiny as the state’s revenues have suffered in recent years, but he said that doesn’t mean Nass’ bill didn’t have merit.
“The prospects this year aren’t so good, either, but that does not diminish the need,” said Bowman, who no longer serves on the education committee. “What Rep. Nass had was a good idea, but there was no traction.”
It was such a good idea that there is already a program that teaches financial literacy in high schools through the state treasurer’s office. However, said William Lund, director of the Bureau of Consumer Credit Protection, the program has run out of funding after two years because of a plunge in licensing and fee revenues associated with the wider economic downturn.
“So many consumers, as they grow up, are subject to so many offers of credit,” Lund said. “Our job would be a lot easier if students gained financial literacy and if they knew how to plan instead of react. I wish our office could continue to fund it.”
Nass said as a Legislator, she understands how poor lifestyle choices impact state and federal spending across a spectrum of social services ranging from Medicare funding to the Dept. of Health and Human Services having to intervene in bad parenting decisions.
“I am adamant that these lessons be put in the learning results,” said Nass. “By the time students get to college, it’s a little too late. We need to start young.”
Nass said part of the reason for the failure of the bill last year was because it didn’t receive enough support at the public hearing. “The people who would have come support it were doing their jobs in the classroom,” said Nass, and because of the cost of incorporating the language into the state’s Learning Results.
The Maine Learning Results are a set of standards that public schools are expected to achieve in order to prepare students for life. According to the fiscal note for the bill, it would have cost $50,000 in one-time federal funding to incorporate the language into the Learning Results.
Nass said the $50,000 expenditure was justified because it would save so much more in the future, saying she received a positive and wide-ranging response to her bill during the last session.
One stumbling block might be those educators who oppose the state telling them what to teach without funding it, but Nass said these lessons can be used to teach other skills, like math and science. For that reason, she proposes the new language be in the form of recommendations, not requirements.
“With all the problems we have, particularly childhood obesity being one of our number one problems, this should be our highest priority,” she said. “A creative teacher can incorporate these lessons into other courses.”
As of Friday, Nass’ bill had not been printed.
(Statehouse News Service)
