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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4074 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 627
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
John J. Lawn, Jr.
_________________
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 the strengthening of financial literacy throughout the commonwealth.
_______________
PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:John J. Lawn, Jr.10th Middlesex1/17/2025 1 of 8
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4074 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 627
By Representative Lawn of Watertown, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 627) of John
J. Lawn, Jr. for legislation to authorize the department of elementary and secondary education to
establish the financial literacy trust fund. Education.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
_______________
An Act relative to the strengthening of financial literacy throughout the commonwealth.
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
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. 2 of 8
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
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 3 of 8
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
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 4 of 8
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 than one-half of 1
72semester or take part in an equivalent amount of coursework by measurement of credit as
73determined by the district. Instruction shall include, but not be limited to: (i) earning and
74spending income, local, state and federal taxes, charitable giving, methods of payment, consumer
75protection, balancing ledgers and checkbooks and budgeting; (ii) long-term saving, the role of
76banks and financial institutions, interest both simple and compound, financial regulation and
77planning for the future; (iii) using credit and making investments, risks of various financial
78instruments and basic diversification of assets; (iv) protecting and insuring assets, preventing 5 of 8
79identity theft and avoiding online scams; (v) emerging technologies in the financial industry, a
80basic understanding of cryptocurrencies, online commerce and computer stock-trading, how to
81evaluate digital media content relating personal finance matters and how to recognize risk; and
82(vi) rights and responsibilities of renting or buying a home or making other large purchases or
83investments.
84 (c) The department of elementary and secondary education shall provide professional
85development opportunities for educators on the personal financial literacy framework and subject
86to sufficient resources in the Financial Literacy Trust Fund established under section 2BBBBBB
87of chapter 29, create tools aligned with the framework to support districts in the implementation
88process. Additional support and outreach from the department may include statewide and
89regional trainings, meetings or conferences, including opportunities for districts and stakeholders
90to assess and share evidence-based best practices in support of personal financial literacy
91education and provide feedback and recommendations to the department.
92 (d) Each public school serving students in grades 9 through 12 shall provide not less than
931 experiential personal financial literacy learning opportunity for each student; provided,
94however, that each such experience shall be consistent with personal financial literacy standards
95established and adopted by the board pursuant to sections 1D and 1R of chapter 69 and with
96structured learning time requirements as required under regulations promulgated by the board of
97elementary and secondary education. Experiential personal
98 financial literacy learning opportunities may be individual, small group or class-wide and
99designed to promote a student’s ability to: (i) reason, make logical arguments and support claims
100using valid evidence; and (ii) demonstrate an understanding of the importance of personal 6 of 8
101financial literacy, including best practices for financial security, empowerment and the
102management of financial risk.
103 SECTION 7. The department of elementary and secondary education may apply for
104federal, state or other funding to implement the provisions of this act.
105 SECTION 8. (a) There is hereby established a special legislative commission pursuant to
106section 2A of chapter 4 of the General Laws to serve to improve the financial literacy and
107education of all people in the commonwealth through development of a statewide strategy to
108promote financial literacy and education. The commission shall solicit input from the public,
109educators, businesses and the financial services industry on financial literacy trends, the
110prevalence of written and online financial education platforms, as well as other resources that
111could be utilized to benefit the people of the commonwealth.
112 (b) The commission shall study and review: (I) establishing adult financial literacy
113standards that shall promote an understanding of personal finances including, but not limited to:
114(i) loans; (ii) interest and interest accrual; (iii) using credit and making investments, risks of
115various financial instruments and basic diversification of assets; (iv) online commerce; (v) rights
116and responsibilities of renting or buying a home or making other large purchases or investments;
117(vi) saving, investing and planning for retirement; (vii) the role of banking and financial services;
118(viii) balancing ledgers and checkbooks; (ix) state and federal taxes; (x) charitable giving; (xi)
119evaluating media content, including online content, that relates to personal finance matters; (xii)
120saving, investing and planning for higher education or professional training (xiii) earning and
121spending income, methods of payment, consumer protection, and budgeting; (xiv) protecting and
122insuring assets, preventing identity theft and avoiding online scams; and (xv) emerging 7 of 8
123technologies in the financial industry, a basic understanding of cryptocurrencies, online
124commerce and computer stock-trading, how to evaluate digital media content relating personal
125finance matters and how to recognize risk; (II) existing means, methods and best practices to
126facilitate financial literacy to all people of the commonwealth; (III) the cost to the
127commonwealth to implement an online financial literacy depository or similar application
128including existing materials and resources; (IV) the impact of including tax-based or state
129program credits to encourage the completion of financial literacy education; and (V) the
130exploration of public-private partnerships to maximize the programs reach and effectiveness for
131all people in the commonwealth. The commission shall report on the potential impact on
132establishing a state-wide financial literacy program for all people in the
133 commonwealth and provide recommendations on the future financial literacy in the
134commonwealth.
135 (c) The commission shall consist of: the chairs of the joint committee on financial
136services, who shall serve as co-chairs; 1 member appointed by the treasurer; the secretary of
137education or a designee; the commissioner of banks or a designee; 1 member appointed by the
138Cooperative Credit Union Association; 1 member appointed by the Massachusetts Bankers
139Association; 1 member appointed by the Massachusetts Teachers Association; and 3 members
140appointed by the governor who shall have experience implementing financial literacy education
141programs in the commonwealth. The appointees of the governor shall represent diverse
142geographic areas of the commonwealth. 8 of 8
143 (d) Not later than December 1, 2025, the commission shall file a report and its
144recommendations with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, the joint
145committee on financial services.