H.4670

SECTION 1. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 2LLLLLL the following section:-
Section 2MMMMMM. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate, non-budgeted fund known as the Personal Financial Literacy Education Fund, which shall be administered by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education. The fund shall be credited with: (i) revenue from appropriations or other money authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) funds from public and private sources such as gifts, grants and donations; and (iii) interest earned on such revenues. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further appropriation and any money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund.
(b)(1) Amounts credited to the fund shall be expended, without further appropriation, for purposes related to educating middle school and high school students on personal financial literacy, including, but not limited to: (i) procurement, development and distribution of personal financial literacy curricular materials, including educational resources and other necessary materials; (ii) professional development opportunities, including trainings, seminars, conferences and materials for educators to use in the teaching of personal financial literacy; and (iii) the grant program established in subsection (d).
(2) In expending amounts credited to the fund, the commissioner may prioritize: (i) underserved communities across the commonwealth, including those public schools or school districts with high concentrations of economically-disadvantaged students; and (ii) schools implementing a personal financial literacy education program for the first time consistent with the standards set by the department of elementary and secondary education pursuant to section 102 of chapter 71.
(c) Amounts received from private sources shall be approved by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education and subject to review before being deposited in the fund to ensure that pledged funds are not accompanied by conditions, explicit or implicit, on the implementation of personal financial literacy education programming that may be detrimental to the neutral and rigorous teaching of personal financial literacy or unduly influence the direction of personal financial literacy education policy. The review shall be made publicly available on the department of elementary and secondary education’s website.
(d) There shall be a competitive grant program to promote the instruction of middle school and high school students on personal financial literacy developed and administered by the department of elementary and secondary education for all public schools and school districts. The department may expend funds from the fund for the grant program. The department may provide funds and other resources to public schools and school districts as needed to ensure that every public school and school district has the opportunity to apply for grants.
(e) Annually, not later than October 1, the commissioner of elementary and secondary education shall report to the joint committee on education, the house and senate committees on ways and means and the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate on the fund’s activities. The report shall include, but not be limited to: (i) the source and amount of funds received; (ii) the expenditures made from the fund and the purpose of such expenditures; (iii) any grants provided pursuant to subsection (d); (iv) anticipated revenue and expenditure projections for the next year; (v) the number of schools and school districts that have used funds to implement a new program or enhance or maintain current programming; and (vi) the number of schools and school districts that applied for, but were not granted, funding. The report shall be made publicly available on the department of elementary and secondary education’s website.
SECTION 2. The fifteenth paragraph of section 1I of chapter 69 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2024 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out clauses (l) and (m) and inserting in place thereof the following 3 clauses:-
(l) nutrition and wellness programs;
(m) genocide education programs; and
(n) personal financial literacy programs.
SECTION 3. Said section 1I of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the sixteenth paragraph the following paragraph:-
Annually, not later than October 1, the commissioner shall provide a report on the progress of personal financial literacy programs in public schools and school districts to the joint committee on education and the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate. The report shall provide a description of the manner in which grantees of the competitive grant program pursuant to subsection (d) of section 2MMMMMM of chapter 29 offer personal financial literacy instruction, including: (i) the number of hours of instruction offered; (ii) the grade levels at which such instruction is offered; and (iii) the title and description of the course in which such instruction is integrated.
SECTION 4. Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
Section 102. (a) Every school district shall, for the purpose of educating middle school and high school students, provide instruction on personal financial literacy consistent with standards established by the department.
(b) Instruction on personal financial literacy shall include, but shall not be limited to: (i) earning and spending income, local, state and federal taxes, charitable giving, methods of payment, consumer protection, balancing ledgers and checkbooks and budgeting; (ii) long-term savings, the role of banks and financial institutions, simple and compound interest, financial regulation and planning for the future; (iii) using credit and making investments, risks of various financial instruments and basic diversification of assets; (iv) protecting and insuring assets, preventing identity theft and avoiding online scams; (v) emerging technologies in the financial industry, a basic understanding of cryptocurrencies, online commerce and computer stock-trading, how to evaluate digital media content relating to personal finance matters and how to recognize risk; and (vi) rights and responsibilities of renting or buying a home or making other large purchases or investments.
(c)(1) The department shall assist schools in providing: (i) instruction on personal financial literacy by facilitating access to high-quality curricular materials; and (ii) professional development opportunities, including trainings, seminars, conferences and materials for educators to use in the teaching of personal financial literacy.
(2) The department may provide trainings, seminars, conferences and materials for educators to use in the teaching of personal financial literacy in person or through the use of synchronous or asynchronous audio, video, electronic media or other telecommunications technology.
(d) Nothing in this section shall require a school district to require personal financial literacy instruction in every year of middle school and high school; provided, however, that personal financial literacy education and instruction shall be utilized during appropriate times in middle school and high school curricula, as determined by the school district.
SECTION 5. Section 4 shall take effect beginning in the 2026-2027 school year.
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