Sen. Chaudhuri files bill in North Carolina Senate on financial literacy education

A new bill filed by Sen. Chaudhuri seeks to enhance personal financial literacy education by including instruction on gambling and its financial risks for North Carolina students, according to the North Carolina State Senate.

The bill, filed as SB 393 on March 24 during the 2025 regular session, was formally listed with the short title: ‘Betting and Addiction in Pers. Finance Course.’

The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.

In essence, this bill mandates the inclusion of instruction on gambling and gambling addiction in personal financial literacy education for all students in North Carolina. The State Board of Education will determine the curriculum’s other components, and it will cover various financial literacy topics. These topics include understanding the true cost of credit, managing credit cards, borrowing for major purchases like automobiles, navigating home mortgages, credit scoring and reports, and other relevant issues. The bill’s requirement concerning gambling aims to increase awareness of the financial implications and potential addictive nature of gambling, including sports betting. This act is effective upon becoming law and will apply starting with the 2025-26 school year.

Of the two sponsors of this bill, Jim Burgin proposed the most bills (43) during the 2025 regular session.

Bills in North Carolina follow a multi-step process before becoming law. A lawmaker starts by filing a bill, which is assigned to a committee for review. The bill must be read three times in each chamber. If one chamber changes the bill after the other passes it, both must agree on the final version. Once both chambers approve the same bill, it goes to the governor, who has 10 days (or 30 if the legislature is not in session) to sign, veto, or let it become law without a signature.

You can read more about the bills and other measures here.

Chaudhuri graduated from Davidson College in 1991 with a BA and again in 1999 from North Carolina Central University with a JD.

Chaudhuri, a Democrat, was elected to the North Carolina State Senate in 2019 to represent the state’s 15th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Terry Van Duyn.