According to the bill, "a flourishing economy arises from private sector initiative and entrepreneurship working in a free market protected by the rule of law and nurtured by limited government that guarantees private ownership rights, economic liberty and equality of opportunity."

Grover said he believes the class would help encourage future entrepreneurs and teach kids valuable lessons in the wake of this recession. He said the bill is a chance to "look at what we’re doing and see if that’s the best way to advance our free market economy and good ideas, and getting kids the knowledge that they need to be successful in a very treacherous financial world."

Full text of bill is here.

Salt Lake Tribune: Bill would require Utah teens to take class on free enterprise system

The bill is also an ALEC model bill, written in part by the Chamber of Commerce and bought and paid for by corporations. Sponsored by Utah Republican Keith Grover (UT R-61), Member, ALEC Education task force.

U.S. Chamber Releases ‘Model Legislation’ to Educate Youth on Free Enterprise System

“Free enterprise has been the cornerstone of America’s economic success for centuries and it’s long overdue for inclusion as part of our nation’s high school curriculum,” said Stan Anderson, chairman of the Campaign for Free Enterprise. “This is the perfect opportunity to present students with a course that educates them on how free enterprise has allowed Americans to follow a dream, start their own businesses, create jobs, and grow the economy.”

"The proposed legislation would mandate specific instruction in the following:

the basic characteristics of the free enterprise system;

the benefits of economic growth, wealth creation and technological innovation as compared to other systems;

the importance of the rule of law, private ownership rights, economic liberty, and equality of opportunity;

the impact of government spending, regulations, and tax, monetary and trade policies;

and opportunities presented by starting a business."

More information on Privatizing Public Education, Higher Ed Policy, and Teachers from ALECexposed.org is here.

ALEC is not a lobby; it is not a front group. It is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, behind closed doors, corporations hand state legislators the changes to the law they desire that directly benefit their bottom line. Along with legislators, corporations have membership in ALEC. Corporations sit on all nine ALEC task forces and vote with legislators to approve “model” bills. They have their own corporate governing board which meets jointly with the legislative board. (ALEC says that corporations do not vote on the board.) They fund almost all of ALEC's operations. Participating legislators, overwhelmingly conservative Republicans, then bring those proposals home and introduce them in statehouses across the land as their own brilliant ideas and important public policy innovations—without disclosing that corporations crafted and voted on the bills. ALEC boasts that it has over 1,000 of these bills introduced by legislative members every year, with one in every five of them enacted into law. ALEC describes itself as a “unique,” “unparalleled” and “unmatched” organization. It might be right. It is as if a state legislature had been reconstituted, yet corporations had pushed the people out the door. Learn more at ALECexposed.org