I 
109TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5046 
To promote youth financial education. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 29, 2006 
Ms. MILLENDER-MCDONALD introduced the following bill; which was referred 
to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To promote youth financial education. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. PROMOTING YOUTH FINANCIAL LITERACY. 
Title IV of the Elementary and Secondary Education 
Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended by add-
ing at the end the following: 
‘‘PART D—PROMOTING YOUTH FINANCIAL 
LITERACY 
‘‘SEC. 4401. SHORT TITLE AND FINDINGS. 
‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This part may be cited as the 
‘Youth Financial Education Act’. 
‘‘(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
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‘‘(1) In order to succeed in our dynamic Amer-
ican economy, young people must obtain the skills, 
knowledge, and experience necessary to manage their 
personal finances and obtain general financial lit-
eracy. All young adults should have the educational 
tools necessary to make informed financial decisions. 
‘‘(2) Despite the critical importance of financial 
literacy to young people, the average student who 
graduates from high school lacks basic skills in the 
management of personal financial affairs. A nation-
wide survey conducted in 2004 by the Jump$tart 
Coalition for Personal Financial Literacy examined 
the financial knowledge of 4,074 12th graders. On 
average, survey respondents answered only 52 per-
cent of the questions correctly. This figure is up only 
slightly from the 50 percent average score in 2002. 
‘‘(3) An evaluation by the National Endowment 
for Financial Education High School Financial 
Planning Program undertaken jointly with the 
United States Department of Agriculture Coopera-
tive State Research, Education, and Extension Serv-
ice demonstrates that as little as 10 hours of class-
room instruction can impart substantial knowledge 
and affect significant change in how teens handle 
their money. 
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‘‘(4) State educational leaders have recognized 
the importance of providing a basic financial edu-
cation to students in kindergarten through grade 12 
by integrating financial education into State edu-
cational standards, but by 2004, only 7 States re-
quired students to complete a course that covered 
personal finance before graduating from high school. 
‘‘(5) Teacher training and professional develop-
ment are critical to achieving youth financial lit-
eracy. Teachers should be given the tools they need 
to educate our Nation’s youth on personal finance 
and economics. 
‘‘(6) Personal financial education helps prepare 
students for the workforce and for financial inde-
pendence by developing their sense of individual re-
sponsibility, improving their life skills, and providing 
them with a thorough understanding of consumer 
economics that will benefit them for their entire 
lives. 
‘‘(7) Financial education integrates instruction 
in valuable life skills with instruction in economics, 
including income and taxes, money management, in-
vestment and spending, and the importance of per-
sonal savings. 
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‘‘(8) The consumers and investors of tomorrow 
are in our schools today. The teaching of personal 
finance should be encouraged at all levels of our Na-
tion’s 
educational 
system, 
from 
kindergarten 
through grade 12. 
‘‘SEC. 4402. STATE GRANT PROGRAM. 
‘‘(a) PROGRAM AUTHORIZED.—The Secretary is au-
thorized to provide grants to State educational agencies 
to develop and integrate youth financial education pro-
grams for students in elementary schools and secondary 
schools. 
‘‘(b) STATE PLAN.— 
‘‘(1) APPROVED STATE PLAN REQUIRED.—To 
be eligible to receive a grant under this section, a 
State educational agency shall submit an application 
that includes a State plan, described in paragraph 
(2), that is approved by the Secretary. 
‘‘(2) STATE PLAN CONTENTS.—The State plan 
referred to in paragraph (1) shall include— 
‘‘(A) a description of how the State edu-
cational agency will use grant funds; 
‘‘(B) a description of how the programs 
supported by a grant will be coordinated with 
other relevant Federal, State, regional, and 
local programs; and 
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‘‘(C) a description of how the State edu-
cational agency will evaluate program perform-
ance. 
‘‘(c) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) ALLOCATION FACTORS.—Except as other-
wise provided in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall 
allocate the amounts made available to carry out 
this section pursuant to subsection (a) to each State 
according to the relative populations in all the States 
of students in kindergarten through grade 12, as de-
termined by the Secretary based on the most recent 
satisfactory data. 
‘‘(2) MINIMUM
ALLOCATION.—Subject to the 
availability of appropriations and notwithstanding 
paragraph (1), a State that has submitted a plan 
under subsection (b) that is approved by the Sec-
retary shall be allocated an amount that is not less 
than $500,000 for a fiscal year. 
‘‘(3) REALLOCATION.—In any fiscal year an al-
location under this subsection— 
‘‘(A) for a State that has not submitted a 
plan under subsection (b); or 
‘‘(B) for a State whose plan submitted 
under subsection (b) has been disapproved by 
the Secretary; 
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