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