(1) The task of the financial education public-private partnership is to seek out and determine the best methods of equipping students with the knowledge and skills they need, before they become self-supporting, in order for them to make critical decisions regarding their personal finances. The components of personal financial education shall include the achievement of skills and knowledge necessary to make informed judgments and effective decisions regarding earning, spending, and the management of money and credit.
(2) In carrying out its task, and to the extent funds are available, the partnership shall:
(a) Communicate to school districts the financial education standards adopted under RCW
28A.300.462, other important financial education skills and content knowledge, and strategies for expanding the provision and increasing the quality of financial education instruction;
(b) Review on an ongoing basis financial education curriculum that is available to school districts, including instructional materials and programs, online instructional materials and resources, and school-wide programs that include the important financial skills and content knowledge;
(c) Develop evaluation standards and a procedure for endorsing financial education curriculum that the partnership determines should be recommended for use in school districts;
(d) Work with the office of the superintendent of public instruction to integrate financial education skills and content knowledge into the state learning standards;
(e) Monitor and provide guidance for professional development for educators regarding financial education, including ways that teachers at different grade levels may integrate financial skills and content knowledge into mathematics, social studies, and other course content areas;
(f) Work with the office of the superintendent of public instruction and the professional educator standards board to create professional development in financial education;
(g) Develop academic guidelines and standards-based protocols for use by classroom volunteers who participate in delivering financial education to students in the public schools;
(h) Provide an annual report beginning December 1, 2009, as provided in RCW
28A.300.464, to the governor, the superintendent of public instruction, and the committees of the legislature with oversight over K-12 education and higher education; and
(i) Administer grant programs including, but not limited to, the program established in RCW
28A.300.466 or related programs established in the omnibus operating appropriations act.
(3) In addition to the duties in subsection (2) of this section and subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the partnership may perform other tasks in support of financial literacy, including, but not limited to:
(a) Hiring support staff;
(b) Contracting with educational service districts;
(c) Facilitating the creation and implementation of professional development for certificated educational staff relating to financial literacy and education, in particular the professional development utilized as part of the grant program created in RCW
28A.300.466;
(d) Working to facilitate, and confirm receipt of, specific outreach for financial literacy training to foster students and homeless youth, students receiving special education services, and tribal communities; and
(e) Coordinating with providers in the early childhood education and assistance program established under chapter
43.216 RCW for the purpose of providing a curriculum on financial literacy that can be shared with the parents or legal guardians of participants in the early childhood education and assistance program.
(4) The partnership may seek federal and private funds to support the school districts in providing access to the materials listed pursuant to RCW
28A.300.468(1), as well as related professional development opportunities for certificated staff.
