The state Senate has unanimously approved a bill that would require schools to provide students with the opportunity to use a personal finance class in lieu of another graduation requirement before they graduate.

Senate bill 723, introduced by Sen. Daniel Laughlin, R-49th, would give students the chance to replace a required social studies, home economics, math or business education course with a class on personal finance beginning with the 2021–22 school year, with schools deciding which credit such a class would replace.

The bill was approved Monday.

“(Laughlin) sees struggles that students have right after they graduate, whether it’s when they get to college or after, by opening credit cards and things like that, and you end up hurting your credit for years after that,” Matt Azeles, Laughlin’s chief of staff, said.

Nearly 70 percent of high school graduates enroll in college the semester following graduation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports, and according to LendEDU Pennsylvania college students top the nation in student debt at more than $35,000 per borrower.

Sen. Elder Vogel Jr., R-47th, said learning personal financial skills is important in an era in which banking is done electronically.

“It’s very important that we do all we can to encourage young people to learn financial literacy,” Vogel said.

Pennsylvania currently requires students to take three courses each in social studies and math, and one credit of home economics or business education can be applied to the 21-credit graduation requirement.

Amy Franz, director of the United Way of Butler County, said she believes an introduction to financial literacy is “essential,” and that she wishes more schools had retained personal finance courses.

“To have that introduction back in high school, I think that will pay dividends, and we’ll see results as they go out into the work world and start to have families,” Franz said.

While the bill would not require students to take a course in financial literacy to graduate, it would increase the likelihood of students taking a personal finance class, Vogel said.

“To be able to get a couple credits toward graduation by taking a class like this, I think, is something that needs to be done,” he added.