I 
111TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5165 
To amend title V of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
to provide grants to State educational agencies in order to provide 
subgrants to eligible local entities to promote financial education to 
students in the classroom. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 28, 2010 
Mr. CASTLE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Education and Labor 
A BILL 
To amend title V of the Elementary and Secondary Edu-
cation Act of 1965 to provide grants to State educational 
agencies in order to provide subgrants to eligible local 
entities to promote financial education to students in 
the classroom. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Financial Education 
in the Classroom Act of 2010’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINANCIAL EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subpart 13 of part D of title V 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 7267 et seq.) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘Subpart 13—Financial Education for Students 
‘‘SEC. 5531. SHORT TITLE. 
‘‘This subpart may be cited as the ‘Financial Edu-
cation in the Classroom Act’. 
‘‘SEC. 5532. PURPOSE AND GOALS. 
‘‘(a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this subpart is to 
promote and carry out economic and financial literacy 
among all students in kindergarten through grade 12 by 
awarding competitive grants to State educational agencies 
to improve the quality of student understanding of per-
sonal finance and economics. 
‘‘(b) GOALS.—The goals of this subpart are the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(1) To increase students’ knowledge of, and 
achievement in, economics and financial literacy to 
enable the students to become more productive and 
informed citizens. 
‘‘(2) To strengthen teachers’ understanding of, 
and competency in, economics and personal finance 
to enable the teachers to increase student mastery of 
economic and financial education principles and the 
practical application of those principles. 
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‘‘(3) To assist State educational agencies in 
measuring the impact of education in economics and 
personal finances. 
‘‘(4) To encourage economic and financial edu-
cation research and development, disseminate effec-
tive instructional materials, and promote replication 
of best practices and exemplary programs that foster 
economic and financial literacy. 
‘‘(5) To leverage and expand private and public 
support for economic education partnerships at na-
tional, State, and local levels. 
‘‘SEC. 5533. GRANTS TO STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES 
FOR FINANCIAL EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS. 
‘‘(a) GRANTS TO STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCIES.— 
From the funds appropriated under section 5536 to carry 
out this section for each fiscal year, the Secretary shall 
award grants, on a competitive basis, to State educational 
agencies to award subgrants to eligible local entities to de-
velop and carry out programs that are designed to provide 
financial education to students in the classroom. 
‘‘(b) STATE
EDUCATIONAL
AGENCY
USES
OF 
FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State educational agency 
that receives a grant under this section— 
‘‘(A) shall— 
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‘‘(i) use the grant funds to award sub-
grants, on a competitive basis, to eligible 
local entities, to develop and carry out fi-
nancial education programs to assist stu-
dents in kindergarten through grade 12 
achieve financial literacy by teaching such 
students— 
‘‘(I) personal financial manage-
ment skills; and 
‘‘(II) the basic principles involved 
with earning, spending, saving, invest-
ing, credit, and insurance; and 
‘‘(ii) reserve not less than 2 percent of 
the grant funds to provide State-wide pro-
fessional development activities to prepare 
teachers and school administrators in eco-
nomic and financial literacy; and 
‘‘(B) may reserve not more than 3 percent 
of the grant funds for— 
‘‘(i) administrative expenses, including 
ongoing 
technical 
assistance, 
training, 
monitoring, and dissemination of prom-
ising practices for eligible local entities 
that receive subgrants under this section; 
and 
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‘‘(ii) conducting, in accordance with 
subsection (c)(2)(E), an evaluation of the 
financial education programs developed 
and carried out by such eligible local enti-
ties. 
‘‘(2) SUBGRANTS
TO
ELIGIBLE
LOCAL
ENTI-
TIES.— 
‘‘(A) APPLICATION.—Each eligible local 
entity desiring a subgrant under this section 
shall submit an application to the State edu-
cational agency at such time, in such manner, 
and including such information as the State 
educational agency may reasonably require. 
‘‘(B) APPLICATION CONTENTS.—Each ap-
plication submitted under subparagraph (A) 
shall include— 
‘‘(i) a description of how the eligible 
local entity will use funds received under 
this section, including a description of the 
financial education program (in this sub-
paragraph referred to as the ‘proposed 
program’) the entity plans to develop and 
carry out using the funds; 
‘‘(ii) a description of each partner in 
the eligible local entity; 
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‘‘(iii) if the eligible local entity does 
not include a partnership with a small or 
large business described in subsection 
(g)(1)(F), a description of how the entity 
will collaborate with the business commu-
nity to promote the connection between fi-
nancial education and economic develop-
ment; 
‘‘(iv) an identification of Federal, 
State, and local programs that the eligible 
local entity will coordinate with the pro-
posed program to make the most effective 
use of public resources; 
‘‘(v) an evaluation of the community 
needs and available resources, and a de-
scription of how the proposed program will 
address those needs; 
‘‘(vi) if the eligible local entity plans 
to use volunteers, a description of how the 
entity will encourage and use individuals 
with appropriate financial literacy quali-
fications to serve as the volunteers; 
‘‘(vii) an assurance that the eligible 
local entity has experience, or promise of 
success, in developing, implementing, and 
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providing high-quality financial education 
or personal finance education training or 
instruction; and 
‘‘(viii) such other information and as-
surances as the State educational agency 
may reasonably require. 
‘‘(C) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible local en-
tity that receives a subgrant under this sec-
tion— 
‘‘(i) shall use funds made available 
under the subgrant to develop and carry 
out financial education programs to assist 
students in kindergarten through grade 12 
achieve financial literacy by teaching such 
students— 
‘‘(I) personal financial manage-
ment skills; and 
‘‘(II) the basic principles involved 
with earning, spending, saving, invest-
ing, credit, and insurance; and 
‘‘(ii) may use funds made available 
under the subgrant to— 
‘‘(I) develop or acquire financial 
educational materials, activities, or 
coursework, that have been integrated 
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into the curricula of the schools 
served by the local educational agency 
of the eligible local entity; or 
‘‘(II) develop or carry out for 
teachers and administrators, profes-
sional development programs that use 
effective and innovative approaches to 
the teaching of financial education 
and personal finance. 
‘‘(D) APPROVAL
OF
LOCAL
APPLICA-
TION.—The State educational agency shall ap-
prove only those applications from eligible local 
entities that have developed plans that the 
State educational agency determines to be fea-
sible and appropriate in order to achieve the de-
sired purpose of the subgrants. 
‘‘(E) CONSIDERATIONS.—In awarding sub-
grants under this section, the State educational 
agency shall take into consideration— 
‘‘(i) whether the eligible local entities 
that will be awarded a subgrant under this 
section are equitably distributed among the 
different geographic regions of the State 
and serve urban and rural areas; and 
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‘‘(ii) local educational agencies that 
may benefit from a subgrant under this 
subsection that are serving higher percent-
ages or numbers of school-age children who 
are from low-income families, as compared 
to other such local educational agencies. 
‘‘(F) PERMISSIVE LOCAL MATCH.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—A State edu-
cational agency may require an eligible 
local entity to match the subgrant funds 
the entity receives under this section, ex-
cept that such match may not be derived 
from other Federal funds. 
‘‘(ii) SLIDING SCALE.—The amount of 
a match under clause (i)— 
‘‘(I) shall be established based on 
a sliding fee scale that takes into ac-
count the ability of the eligible local 
entity to obtain such matching funds; 
and 
‘‘(II) shall not exceed an amount 
equal to 50 percent of the cost of the 
activities supported under the sub-
grant. 
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‘‘(iii) 
IN-KIND
CONTRIBUTIONS.— 
Each State educational agency that re-
quires an eligible local entity to match 
funds under this section shall permit the 
entity to provide all or any portion of such 
match in the form of in-kind contributions. 
‘‘(iv) 
CONSIDERATION.—Notwith-
standing clause (i), a State educational 
agency shall not consider an eligible local 
entity’s ability to match funds when deter-
mining whether the entity will receive a 
subgrant under this section. 
‘‘(c) STATE EDUCATIONAL AGENCY APPLICATION.— 
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each State educational 
agency that desires to receive a grant under this sec-
tion shall submit an application to the Secretary, at 
such time, in such manner, and including such infor-
mation as the Secretary may reasonably require. 
‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 
under paragraph (1) shall include— 
‘‘(A) a description of how the State edu-
cational agency will use funds received under 
this section, including— 
‘‘(i) how the State will use funds re-
served for State-wide professional develop-
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ment 
activities 
under 
subsection 
(b)(1)(A)(ii); and 
‘‘(ii) how the State educational agency 
will select eligible local entities to receive 
subgrants under this section; 
‘‘(B) a description of how the State edu-
cational agency will assist local educational 
agencies in partnering with one of the entities 
described in subparagraphs (A) through (F) of 
subsection (g)(1) in order to become eligible 
local entities; 
‘‘(C) an identification of Federal and State 
programs that the State will coordinate with 
the programs developed and carried out by eli-
gible entities that receive subgrants under this 
section to make the most effective use of public 
resources; 
‘‘(D) a description of the steps that the 
State educational agency will take to ensure 
that programs developed and carried out by the 
eligible local entities receiving subgrants under 
this section implement effective strategies, in-
cluding by providing such entities ongoing tech-
nical assistance, training, monitoring, and dis-
semination of promising practices; 
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‘‘(E) an assurance that the State edu-
cational agency will conduct an independent 
evaluation that is based on rigorous scientif-
ically based research to assess— 
‘‘(i) the effectiveness of the programs 
developed and carried out by the eligible 
local entities receiving subgrants under 
this section; and 
‘‘(ii) the impact of economic and fi-
nancial literacy education on students 
served by such programs ; and 
‘‘(F) such other information and assur-
ances as the Secretary may reasonably require. 
‘‘(3) APPROVAL.—In approving applications 
submitted under paragraph (1), the Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(A) to the extent feasible, ensure an equi-
table geographic distribution of grants awarded 
under this section; and 
‘‘(B) consider local educational agencies 
that may benefit from a subgrant under this 
section that are serving higher percentages or 
numbers of school-age children who are from 
low-income families, as compared to other such 
local educational agencies. 
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‘‘(d) DURATION OF GRANTS.—Grants under this sec-
tion may be awarded for a period of not less than 3 years 
and not more than 5 years. 
‘‘(e) AMOUNT OF GRANTS.—A grant awarded under 
this section may not be made in an amount that is less 
than $50,000 per award year. 
‘‘(f) REPORTS.— 
‘‘(1) STATE
EDUCATIONAL
AGENCY.—Each 
State educational agency receiving a grant under 
this section shall submit to the Secretary, a report 
for each fiscal year for which a grant is received that 
describes— 
‘‘(A) the programs supported by the grant; 
and 
‘‘(B) the results of the State educational 
agency’s monitoring and evaluation of such pro-
grams. 
‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—The Secretary shall publicly 
release a copy of the report, including by posting the 
report on the Internet website of the Department of 
Education. 
‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) ELIGIBLE LOCAL ENTITY.—The term ‘eli-
gible local entity’ means a partnership consisting of 
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a local educational agency and not less than 1 of the 
following entities: 
‘‘(A) A nonprofit organization with experi-
ence, or promise of success, in developing, ad-
ministering, and carrying out high-quality fi-
nancial education or personal finance education 
programs. 
‘‘(B) A nonprofit organization with experi-
ence, or promise of success, in developing, ad-
ministering, and carrying out high-quality pro-
fessional development for teachers that leads to 
an increase in student academic achievement in 
subjects integral to financial education or per-
sonal finance education. 
‘‘(C) A recipient of an Excellence in Eco-
nomic Education grant under section 5534. 
‘‘(D) An institution of higher education. 
‘‘(E) A community-based organization with 
experience, or promise of success, in developing, 
administering, and carrying out high-quality fi-
nancial education or personal finance education 
programs. 
‘‘(F) A small or large business with experi-
ence, or promise of success, in developing, ad-
ministering, and carrying out high-quality fi-
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