Bill > H636

This bill establishes a Financial Literacy Trust Fund to support financial education in schools across Massachusetts, with several key provisions. The fund will be administered by the commissioner of elementary and secondary education and can receive money from appropriations, public and private sources, and will not revert to the General Fund at year's end. The fund can be used to develop financial literacy curriculum materials and provide professional development for educators, with a priority on underserved communities and schools implementing financial literacy programs for the first time. The bill also requires that private funding sources be carefully reviewed to ensure they do not inappropriately influence financial education content. Additionally, the bill expands financial literacy standards to include a comprehensive range of topics such as loans, credit, investments, online commerce, home purchasing, retirement planning, taxes, consumer protection, and emerging financial technologies like cryptocurrencies. The bill mandates that schools "shall" (rather than "may") implement these financial literacy standards, and the new financial literacy requirements will take effect one full academic year after the bill's enactment. The commissioner must provide an annual public report detailing the fund's activities, including funding sources, expenditures, and implementation progress across school districts.

Education

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H636