Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

OHIO LEGISLATIVE SERVICE COMMISSION
                                             Office of Research                              Legislative Budget
www.lsc.ohio.gov                               and Drafting                                        Office
                                S.B. 17                         Final Analysis
                      135th   General Assembly
                                                                    Click here for S.B. 17’s Fiscal Note
    Primary Sponsor: Sen. Wilson
    Effective date: June 12, 2024
    Effective Date:
    Mariah M. Maldovan, Attorney
                                                        SUMMARY
                       Requires that academic concepts of free market capitalism be incorporated into the state
                          standards and model curriculum for financial literacy and entrepreneurship for grades 9
                          through 12.
                       Permits students to fulfill the financial literacy instruction requirement for high school
                          graduation by successfully completing AP Microeconomics or AP Macroeconomics.
                       Permits math teachers to teach financial literacy without a financial literacy license
                          validation.
                                               DETAILED ANALYSIS
Free market capitalism standards and curriculum
       The act requires the State Board of Education to incorporate academic concepts of free
market capitalism into the standards and model curriculum for financial literacy and
entrepreneurship for grades 9 through 12. Note that S.B. 17 was introduced before the
enactment in 2023 of H.B. 33 of the 135th General Assembly, which transferred the power to
adopt academic standards and model curricula from the State Board to the Department of
Education and Workforce.
      The act also specifies the free market capitalism concepts that the newly developed
academic content must include. Those concepts include all of the following:1
                      1. Raw materials, labor, and capital are privately owned.
                      2. Individuals control their own ability to work and earn wages.
1     R.C. 3301.079(A)(2)(b).
                                                                                                           March 19, 2024
Office of Research and Drafting                  LSC                           Legislative Budget Office
      3. Private ownership of capital may take many forms, including via a family business, a
         publicly traded corporation, or a bank, among others.
      4. Market prices are the only method to inform consumers and producers about the
         constantly changing information about the supply and demand of goods and services.
      5. Both sellers and buyers seek to profit in a free market transaction, and profit earned can
         be consumed, saved, reinvested, or dispersed to shareholders.
      6. Wealth creation involves asset value appreciation and depreciation, voluntary exchange
         of equity ownership, and open and closed markets.
      7. The free market positively correlates with entrepreneurship and innovation.
      8. The free market may involve externalities and market failures in which the cost of certain
         economic activities is borne by third parties.
      9. The free market often accords with policies like legally protected property rights, legally
         enforceable contracts, patent protections, and the mitigation of externalities.
      10. Free-market societies often embrace political and personal freedoms.
Financial literacy instruction requirement
        The act permits students to fulfill the financial literacy instruction requirement for high
school graduation by successfully completing AP Microeconomics or AP Macroeconomics. Under
continuing law, students must complete one-half unit of financial literacy instruction as part of
the high school curriculum and may do so either (1) in lieu of one-half unit of mathematics
instruction or (2) as an elective.2
     Financial literacy educator license validation
        The act permits math teachers to provide high school financial literacy instruction without
a financial literacy license validation. Under continuing law, teachers who provide financial
literacy instruction generally must have a financial literacy license validation. However,
continuing law also permits social studies, family and consumer sciences, and business education
teachers to provide financial literacy instruction without a financial literacy license validation.3
                                          HISTORY
                                Action                                       Date
    Introduced                                             01-11-23
    Reported, S. Education                                 03-01-23
    Passed Senate (31-1)                                   03-08-23
2   R.C. 3313.603(C)(3) and (C)(9)(a).
3   R.C. 3319.238(A) and (F).
P a g e |2                                                                                      S.B. 17
                                                                                         Final Analysis
Office of Research and Drafting                LSC                Legislative Budget Office
                             Action                             Date
 Reported, H. Primary & Secondary Education          11-29-23
 Passed House (66-26)                                02-07-24
 Senate concurred in House amendments (32-0)         02-28-24
24-ANSB0017-135/ts
P a g e |3                                                                         S.B. 17
                                                                            Final Analysis
Statutes affected: 
As Introduced: 3301.079
As Reported By Senate Committee: 3301.079
As Passed By Senate: 3301.079
As Reported By House Committee: 3301.079, 3313.603, 3319.238
As Passed By House: 3301.079, 3313.603, 3319.238
As Enrolled: 3301.079, 3313.603, 3319.238