Financial Literacy Bill Would Require Money Course

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- Maryland high schoolers would have to complete a course in financial literacy in order to graduate under a bill state lawmakers are considering.

Supporters, including Comptroller Peter Franchot, said Wednesday that massive debt and bankruptcy plans offered as escape routes are crushing people in their late teens and early 20s.

Opponents, including the Maryland State Department of Education, say that establishing a mandated course for graduation is too strenuous. They also point to the high cost —$15.6 million— of implementing the financial literacy training.

Franchot, however, called the price tag calculated by state analysts "phoney" and said the estimated cost is greatly inflated by opponents within the state bureaucracy.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)