HR7183-119

What This Bill Does

The Youth Financial Learning Act creates a State-level incentive grant program for school financial literacy. The Education Secretary awards competitive grants of up to four years to State educational agencies. State applications must explain how local subgrants will be awarded, how activities will continue after the grant, how teachers, principals, parents, and students were consulted, and how urban, rural, and suburban students will benefit. States may use no more than 10 percent of funds for technical assistance, curriculum development, local guidance, or evaluation. The rest must be subgranted to local educational agencies, with priority for agencies serving high numbers or percentages of low-performing schools, showing the greatest need, and committing to improve financial literacy and student outcomes in the lowest-performing schools. Local subgrants fund school-based curriculum, substantial class content, experiential learning in consumer, economic, entrepreneurship, personal finance, credit, student loan, and financial-aid concepts, partnerships with community-based organizations, after-school activities, and professional development. States must provide a 25 percent non-federal match, and funds must supplement rather than supplant existing funding.

Who Benefits and How

Elementary school students, secondary school students, students in low-performing schools, financial literacy teachers, State educational agencies, local educational agencies, and community-based organizations benefit from federal support for personal finance curriculum, experiential learning, after-school partnerships, and professional development. Parents benefit from required consultation in State applications. Urban, rural, and suburban districts benefit because the statute requires geographic diversity in grant activities.

Who Bears the Burden and How

State educational agencies must write applications, consult teachers, principals, parents, and students, provide a 25 percent non-federal match, administer local subgrants, evaluate financial literacy outcomes, and ensure funds supplement existing money. Local educational agencies must implement curriculum, partner with community organizations, and embed professional development. Department of Education grant staff must run a competitive program, monitor priorities for low-performing schools, and oversee matching and supplement-not-supplant rules. Federal taxpayers bear the authorized cost.

Key Provisions

• Creates competitive Department of Education grants to State educational agencies for financial literacy education.
• Requires State applications to address local subgrants, sustainability, stakeholder consultation, and urban, rural, and suburban reach.
• Limits State-level technical assistance, curriculum development, guidance, and evaluation to 10 percent of grant funds.
• Requires the remaining funds to flow through local subgrants prioritized for high-need and low-performing schools.
• Funds curriculum, experiential learning, community organization partnerships, after-school activities, and professional development.
• Requires a 25 percent non-federal match and supplement-not-supplant treatment.