Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H594 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2899 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 594
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Ryan M. Hamilton
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to personal financial literacy.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Ryan M. Hamilton15th Essex1/16/2025 1 of 6
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2899 FILED ON: 1/16/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 594
18	18	By Representative Hamilton of Methuen, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 594) of
19	19	Ryan M. Hamilton relative to personal financial literacy in schools. Education.
20	20	[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
21	21	SEE HOUSE, NO. 4199 OF 2023-2024.]
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
25	25	(2025-2026)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act relative to personal financial literacy.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after
31	31	2section 2AAAAAA the following section:-
32	32	3 Section 2BBBBBB. (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the
33	33	4commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Financial Literacy Trust Fund. The fund shall
34	34	5be administered by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education. The fund shall be
35	35	6credited with: (i) revenue from appropriations or other money authorized by the general court
36	36	7and specifically designated to be credited to the fund; (ii) interest earned on such revenues; and
37	37	8(iii) funds from public and private sources such as gifts, grants and donations to further personal
38	38	9financial literacy education and professional development. Amounts credited to the fund shall 2 of 6
39	39	10not be subject to further appropriation and any money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal
40	40	11year shall not revert to the General Fund.
41	41	12 (b) Amounts credited to the fund may focus on underserved communities across the
42	42	13commonwealth, including those school districts with high concentrations of economically
43	43	14disadvantaged students and may be expended, without further appropriation, by the
44	44	15commissioner for the following purposes: (i) to assist with the implementation of section 100 of
45	45	16chapter 71, including professional development training; (ii) for the development and
46	46	17improvement of standards pursuant to section 1R of chapter 69; (iii) for the procurement,
47	47	18development and distribution of personal financial literacy educational resources and materials;
48	48	19(iv) for the collaboration with institutions of higher education and other stakeholder
49	49	20organizations; (v) in consultation with the board and commissioner of higher education, to fund
50	50	21scholarships or other financial supports for students; and (vi) in partnership with the state
51	51	22treasurer and receiver general to establish experiential personal financial literacy learning
52	52	23opportunities for students.
53	53	24 (c) Amounts received from private sources shall be approved by the commissioner of
54	54	25elementary and secondary education and subject to review before being deposited in the fund to
55	55	26ensure that pledged funds are not accompanied by conditions, explicit or implicit, on the
56	56	27implementation of personal financial literacy education programming that may be detrimental to
57	57	28the neutral and rigorous teaching of personal financial literacy or unduly influence the direction
58	58	29of personal financial literacy education policy. The review shall be made publicly available.
59	59	30 (d) Annually, not later than October 1, the commissioner shall report to the clerks of the
60	60	31house of representatives and senate, the joint committee on education and the house and senate 3 of 6
61	61	32committees on ways and means on the fund's activity. The report shall include, but not be limited
62	62	33to: (i) the source and amount of funds received; (ii) the amounts distributed and the purpose of
63	63	34expenditures from the fund, including but not limited to, funds expended to assist school districts
64	64	35in meeting the requirements in section 100 of chapter 71; (iii) any grants provided to institutions
65	65	36of higher education and other stakeholder organizations; and (iv) anticipated revenue and
66	66	37expenditure projections for the next year.
67	67	38 SECTION 2. The third paragraph of section 1D of chapter 69 of the General Laws, as
68	68	39appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the fourth sentence
69	69	40the following sentence:-
70	70	41 The standards shall, for grades 9 through 12, provide for instruction on personal financial
71	71	42literacy including, but not limited to, the topics outlined in subsection (a) of section 1R.
72	72	43 SECTION 3 . Said section 1D of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby further
73	73	44amended by striking out, in line 38, the following words: - financial literacy and.
74	74	45 SECTION 4. Section 1R of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is hereby amended by
75	75	46striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-
76	76	47 (a) Personal financial literacy standards established pursuant to section 1D shall promote
77	77	48an understanding of personal finances including, but not limited to: (i) earning and spending
78	78	49income, local, state and federal taxes, charitable giving, methods of payment, consumer
79	79	50protection, balancing ledgers and checkbooks and budgeting; (ii) long-term saving, the role of
80	80	51banks and financial institutions, interest both simple and compound, financial regulation and
81	81	52planning for the future; (iii) using credit and making investments, risks of various financial
82	82	53instruments and basic diversification of assets; (iv) protecting and insuring assets, preventing 4 of 6
83	83	54identity theft and avoiding online scams; (v) emerging technologies in the financial industry, a
84	84	55basic understanding of crypto currencies, online commerce and computer stock-trading, how to
85	85	56evaluate media content, including digital content relating to personal finance matters and how to
86	86	57evaluate risk; and (vi) rights and responsibilities of renting or buying a home or making other
87	87	58large purchases or investments.
88	88	59 SECTION 5. Subsection (b) of said section 1R of said chapter 69, as so appearing, is
89	89	60hereby amended by adding the following sentence:-
90	90	61 This provision shall not apply to or otherwise alter the requirement of the completion of
91	91	62standalone personal finance coursework by a high school student in order to be eligible to
92	92	63graduate, as defined in section 100 of chapter 71.
93	93	64 SECTION 6. Chapter 71 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following
94	94	65section:-
95	95	66 Section 100. (a) Personal financial literacy shall be taught as a required subject in every
96	96	67school district, charter school, approved private day or residential school or collaborative school
97	97	68serving students in grades 9 through 12 and shall be aligned with the standards promulgated by
98	98	69the board of elementary and secondary education, pursuant to sections 1D and 1R of chapter 69.
99	99	70 (b) Every high school student, prior to graduation, shall be required to take at least 1
100	100	71standalone personal financial literacy course, not to last less in duration of one half of the school
101	101	72year or take part in an equivalent amount of coursework by measurement of credit as determined
102	102	73by the district. Instruction shall include, but not be limited to: (i) earning and spending income,
103	103	74local, state and federal taxes, charitable giving, methods of payment, consumer protection,
104	104	75balancing ledgers and checkbooks and budgeting; (ii) long-term saving, the role of banks and 5 of 6
105	105	76financial institutions, interest both simple and compound, financial regulation and planning for
106	106	77the future; (iii) using credit and making investments, risks of various financial instruments and
107	107	78basic diversification of assets; (iv) protecting and insuring assets, preventing identity theft and
108	108	79avoiding online scams; (v) emerging technologies in the financial industry, a basic understanding
109	109	80of cryptocurrencies, online commerce and computer stock-trading, how to evaluate digital media
110	110	81content relating personal finance matters and how to recognize risk; and (vi) rights and
111	111	82responsibilities of renting or buying a home or making other large purchases or investments.
112	112	83 (c) The department of elementary and secondary education shall provide professional
113	113	84development opportunities for educators on the personal financial literacy framework and subject
114	114	85to sufficient resources in the Financial Literacy Trust Fund established under section 2BBBBBB
115	115	86of chapter 29, create tools aligned with the framework to support districts in the implementation
116	116	87process. Additional support and outreach from the department may include statewide and
117	117	88regional trainings, meetings or conferences, including opportunities for districts and stakeholders
118	118	89to assess and share evidence-based best practices in support of personal financial literacy
119	119	90education and provide feedback and recommendations to the department.
120	120	91 (d) Each public school serving students in grades 9 through 12 shall provide not less than
121	121	921 experiential personal financial literacy learning opportunity for each student; provided,
122	122	93however, that each such experience shall be consistent with personal financial literacy standards
123	123	94established and adopted by the board pursuant to sections 1D and 1R of chapter 69 and with
124	124	95structured learning time requirements as required under regulations promulgated by the board of
125	125	96elementary and secondary education. Experiential personal financial literacy learning
126	126	97opportunities may be individual, small group or class-wide and designed to promote a student’s
127	127	98ability to: (i) reason, make logical arguments and support claims using valid evidence; and (ii) 6 of 6
128	128	99demonstrate an understanding of the importance of personal financial literacy, including best
129	129	100practices for financial security, empowerment and the management of financial risk.
130	130	101 SECTION 7. The department of elementary and secondary education may apply for
131	131	102federal, state or other funding to implement the provisions of this act.