I 
112TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1918 
To provide grants to promote financial literacy. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 13, 2011 
Mrs. MCCARTHY of New York introduced the following bill; which was 
referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce 
A BILL 
To provide grants to promote financial literacy. 
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 and Eco-
nomic Literacy Improvement Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION GRANTS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Part D of title V of the Elemen-
tary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 
7241 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 5537 
the following: 
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‘‘Subpart 13A—Financial Literacy Education 
‘‘SEC. 5538. FINANCIAL LITERACY EDUCATION GRANTS. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary shall award 
grants to eligible entities to enable such entities— 
‘‘(1) to award subgrants to local entities to pro-
vide financial literacy education; and 
‘‘(2) to carry out activities designed to promote 
financial literacy education. 
‘‘(b) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—In this section, the term 
‘eligible entity’ means— 
‘‘(1) a State educational agency; or 
‘‘(2) a State partnership consisting of— 
‘‘(A) a State educational agency; and 
‘‘(B) a nonprofit organization with experi-
ence and a proven quality track record in finan-
cial literacy or personal finance education pro-
grams. 
‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires to 
receive a grant under this section shall submit an applica-
tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 
require. 
‘‘(d) FORMULA.—From the total amount appro-
priated under subsection (g) for a fiscal year, the Sec-
retary shall allot to each State for such fiscal year an 
amount that bears the same relation to such total amount 
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as the amount such State received under part A of title 
I for such fiscal year bears to the total amount received 
by all States under part A of title I for such fiscal year. 
‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.— 
‘‘(1) SUBGRANTS
TO
ELIGIBLE
LOCAL
ENTI-
TIES.— 
‘‘(A) ELIGIBLE
LOCAL
ENTITY.—In this 
section, the term ‘eligible local entity’ means— 
‘‘(i) a local educational agency; or 
‘‘(ii) a local partnership consisting 
of— 
‘‘(I) a local educational agency; 
and 
‘‘(II) not less than one of the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(aa) A nonprofit organiza-
tion with experience and a proven 
track record in quality financial 
literacy or personal finance edu-
cation programs. 
‘‘(bb) An educational service 
agency. 
‘‘(cc) A recipient of an Ex-
cellence in Economic Education 
grant under subpart 13. 
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‘‘(dd) An institution of high-
er education. 
‘‘(ee) A community organi-
zation. 
‘‘(ff) A representative of 
local business. 
‘‘(B) AUTHORIZATION
OF
SUBGRANTS.— 
An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
this section shall use 75 percent of such grant 
funds to award subgrants to eligible local enti-
ties. 
‘‘(C) APPLICATIONS.— 
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—An eligible local 
entity that desires to receive a subgrant 
under this paragraph shall submit an ap-
plication to the eligible entity at such time, 
in such manner, and accompanied by such 
information as the eligible entity may re-
quire. 
‘‘(ii) REVIEW OF APPLICATIONS.—The 
eligible entity shall review applications sub-
mitted under clause (i) in the same man-
ner as applications are reviewed under sec-
tion 5534(b). 
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section 1111(h)(2) the same information on 
student achievement on the financial literacy 
assessments, administered pursuant to subpara-
graph (D), as required, pursuant to section 
1111(h)(2), of the other State academic assess-
ments described in section 1111(b)(3). 
‘‘(2) STATE
ACTIVITIES.—An eligible entity 
that receives a grant under this section shall use 25 
percent of such grant funds to carry out the fol-
lowing: 
‘‘(A) The development of financial literacy 
standards in not less than 3 grade levels, in-
cluding not less than 1 grade level in elemen-
tary school, not less than 1 grade level in mid-
dle school, and not less than 1 grade level in 
high school. 
‘‘(B) The development of appropriate fi-
nancial literacy assessments in the grade levels 
determined under subparagraph (A) that are 
valid, reliable, and comparable across the State. 
‘‘(C) Teacher professional development 
programs to embed financial literacy or per-
sonal finance education into core academic sub-
jects. 
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‘‘(D) An evaluation of the impact of finan-
cial literacy or personal finance education on 
students’ understanding of financial literacy 
concepts. 
‘‘(f) MATCHING FUNDS.—An eligible entity that re-
ceives a grant under this section shall provide, from non- 
Federal sources, an amount equal to 25 percent of the 
amount of the grant award to carry out activities required 
under this section. 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$125,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2012 through 
2017.’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents in 
section 2 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 
of 1965 is amended by inserting after the item relating 
to section 5537 the following: 
‘‘Subpart 13A—Financial Literacy Education 
‘‘Sec. 5538. Financial literacy education grants.’’. 
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO PROMOTE POSTSECONDARY FINANCIAL 
LITERACY. 
Part A of title III of the Higher Education Act of 
1965 (20 U.S.C. 1057 et seq.) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
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‘‘SEC. 320A. GRANTS TO PROMOTE POSTSECONDARY FINAN-
CIAL LITERACY. 
‘‘(a) AUTHORIZATION OF GRANT AWARDS.—The Sec-
retary shall award grants, on a competitive basis, to eligi-
ble entities to enable such entities to provide financial lit-
eracy courses or course components to students. 
‘‘(b) DEFINITION OF ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—In this sec-
tion, the term ‘eligible entity’ means— 
‘‘(1) an institution of higher education; or 
‘‘(2) a partnership consisting of— 
‘‘(A) an institution of higher education; 
and 
‘‘(B) a nonprofit organization with experi-
ence and a proven track record in quality finan-
cial literacy or personal finance education pro-
grams. 
‘‘(c) APPLICATION.—An eligible entity that desires to 
receive a grant under this section shall submit an applica-
tion to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and 
accompanied by such information as the Secretary may 
require. 
‘‘(d) MINIMUM GRANT AMOUNT.—The Secretary 
shall award grants under this section in amounts of not 
less than $500,000. 
‘‘(e) USE OF FUNDS.—An eligible entity that receives 
a grant under this section shall use the grant funds to 
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develop and implement financial literacy education, activi-
ties, student organizations, or counseling that increase 
student knowledge in consumer, economic, and personal 
financial concepts. 
‘‘(f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 
$125,000,000.’’. 
Æ 
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