Youth Financial Learning Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1547 To improve the financial literacy of secondary school students. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 3, 2021 Mr. CARTWRIGHT (for himself, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. EVANS, Mr. VICENTE GONZALEZ of Texas, Ms. SCANLON, Ms. NORTON, Mr. LAN- GEVIN, Mr. RYAN, Ms. HOULAHAN, Ms. BROWNLEY, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Ms. DEAN, and Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Education and Labor A BILL To improve the financial literacy of secondary school students. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Youth Financial 4 Learning Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. STATEWIDE INCENTIVE GRANTS FOR FINANCIAL 6 LITERACY EDUCATION. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act, the terms ‘‘commu- 8 nity-based organization’’, ‘‘elementary school’’, ‘‘local edu- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1547.IH H1547 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1547 IH cational agency’’, ‘‘professional development’’, ‘‘secondary 1 school’’, ‘‘Secretary’’, ‘‘State educational agency’’, and 2 ‘‘well-rounded education’’ have the meanings given those 3 terms in section 8101 of the Elementary and Secondary 4 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7801). 5 (b) GRANTS AUTHORIZED.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—From amounts appropriated 7 under subsection (f), the Secretary shall award 8 grants, on a competitive basis, to State educational 9 agencies to enable those State educational agencies 10 to integrate financial literacy education into public 11 elementary schools or secondary schools by carrying 12 out the activities described in paragraph (4). 13 (2) DURATION.—A grant awarded under this 14 section shall be for a period of not more than 4 15 years. 16 (3) APPLICATION.—Each State educational 17 agency desiring a grant under this section shall sub- 18 mit an application to the Secretary at such time and 19 in such manner as the Secretary may require, in- 20 cluding— 21 (A) a description of how the State edu- 22 cational agency will award subgrants to local 23 educational agencies; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1547.IH H1547 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1547 IH (B) a description of how the State edu- 1 cational agency will ensure sustainability of the 2 grant activities after the grant program; 3 (C) an assertion that teachers, principals, 4 parents, and students have been consulted in 5 the process of developing the application; and 6 (D) a description of how the State edu- 7 cational agency will ensure geographic diversity 8 so that grant activities benefit students in 9 urban, rural, and suburban locations. 10 (4) USES OF STATE FUNDS.— 11 (A) STATE ACTIVITIES.—Each State edu- 12 cational agency receiving grant funds under this 13 section may use not more than 10 percent of 14 such grant funds— 15 (i) for technical assistance; 16 (ii) for curriculum development; 17 (iii) to provide guidance to local edu- 18 cational agencies; or 19 (iv) to conduct an evaluation of the 20 impact of financial literacy or personal fi- 21 nance education on students’ under- 22 standing of financial literacy concepts. 23 (B) SUBGRANTS.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1547.IH H1547 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1547 IH (i) IN GENERAL.—Each State edu- 1 cational agency receiving grant funds 2 under this section shall use the remainder 3 of such grant funds to award subgrants to 4 local educational agencies in the State. 5 (ii) PRIORITY.—In awarding such 6 subgrants, a State educational agency shall 7 give priority to local educational agencies 8 that— 9 (I) serve high numbers, or a high 10 percentage of, elementary schools and 11 secondary schools implementing plans 12 under paragraphs (1) and (2) of sec- 13 tion 1111(d) of the Elementary and 14 Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 15 U.S.C. 6311(d)); 16 (II) demonstrate the greatest 17 need for such funds, as determined by 18 the State educational agency; and 19 (III) demonstrate the strongest 20 commitment to using funds under this 21 section to enable the lowest-per- 22 forming schools to improve students’ 23 financial literacy and student out- 24 comes. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1547.IH H1547 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1547 IH (c) USES OF SUBGRANT FUNDS.—Each local edu- 1 cational agency receiving a subgrant under this section 2 shall use the subgrant funds— 3 (1) to implement, expand, or sustain, in one or 4 more elementary schools or one or more secondary 5 schools, school-based financial literacy activities and 6 curriculum that is a substantial portion of any class, 7 in order to enhance student understanding of and 8 experimental learning with consumer, economic, en- 9 trepreneurship, and personal finance concepts, in- 10 cluding personal credit, student loans, and financial 11 aid; 12 (2) to promote partnerships between the local 13 educational agency and community-based organiza- 14 tions that provide innovative, evidence-based finan- 15 cial literacy activities to elementary school or sec- 16 ondary school students, which may include after 17 school activities; and 18 (3) to promote professional development pro- 19 grams to embed financial literacy or personal finance 20 or entrepreneurship education into a well-rounded 21 education in elementary schools or secondary 22 schools. 23 (d) MATCHING FUNDS.—A State educational agency 24 that receives a grant under this section shall provide 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1547.IH H1547 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1547 IH matching funds, from non-Federal sources, in an amount 1 equal to 25 percent of the amount of grant funds provided 2 to the State educational agency to carry out the activities 3 supported by the grant. 4 (e) SUPPLEMENT NOT SUPPLANT.—Grant funds 5 provided under this section shall be used to supplement, 6 not supplant, other Federal or State funds available to 7 carry out activities described in this section. 8 (f) APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be 9 appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may 10 be necessary for fiscal year 2022 and each of the 4 suc- 11 ceeding fiscal years. 12 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:20 Apr 17, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1547.IH H1547 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS