Arkansas Code
Subchapter 1 - General Provisions
§ 6-16-135. Personal and family finance standards

(a) The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, in consultation with the Division of Career and Technical Education and subject to the approval of the State Board of Education, shall develop personal and family finance standards.
(b) The standards shall include the following material concerning personal and family finance:
(1) Income, including without limitation taxes;
(2) Money management, including without limitation:
(A) Household budget creation;
(B) Banking practices, including savings account and checking account maintenance;
(C) Insurance;
(D) Charitable giving; and
(E) Long-term financial planning;

(3) Spending and credit, including without limitation:
(A) Basic consumer finance;
(B) Identity fraud and theft;
(C) Home ownership;
(D) Debt management;
(E) Credit management;
(F) Bankruptcy; and
(G) Consumer protection;

(4) Saving and investing, including without limitation:
(A) Methods of saving;
(B) Methods of investing;
(C) Retirement planning;
(D) Risk and return; and
(E) Regulation of savings and investment; and

(5) Preparing for employment, including without limitation:
(A) Decision making and employment choices;
(B) Job seeking skills, including resume building and interview skills;
(C) Understanding paychecks, including without limitation:
(i) I-9 forms;
(ii) W-4 forms; and
(iii) Income tax deductions;

(D) Employment benefits;
(E) Soft job skills, including without limitation:
(i) Communication;
(ii) Time management; and
(iii) Meeting basic employer expectations and requirements;

(F) The differences between salaried and hourly employment; and
(G) Overtime.

(c) Beginning with the entering ninth grade class of the 2017-2018 school year, each public high school student shall be required before graduation to earn a credit in a course taken in grade nine (9), grade ten (10), grade eleven (11), or grade twelve (12) that includes the personal and family finance standards under subsection (b) of this section.