# Plain Language Summary: Young Americans Financial Literacy Act

This bill creates a new grant program to fund "centers of excellence" that will develop and teach financial literacy programs to young people and families ages 8 through 24. The program would be run by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (a federal agency that oversees consumer financial issues), and would give money to partnerships of organizations like colleges, nonprofits, government agencies, and banks to create and deliver financial education programs. The grants would fund research, develop teaching materials, train teachers, and evaluate whether these programs actually work.

The bill addresses a real problem: most Americans think financial education should be taught in schools, but very few teachers actually teach it. Less than half of states require high school students to take a personal finance course, and most young adults feel they don't know enough about managing money. The bill specifically targets young people at critical life moments—high school graduates entering the workforce, college students taking on debt, and young families starting out—as well as people facing financial hardship like bankruptcy or predatory lending.

The funded programs would cover core financial topics like budgeting, saving, managing debt, and understanding financial tools. They'd also need to reach disadvantaged and minority populations, deliver content through both traditional and digital methods (including social media), and prove their effectiveness through evaluation and research. The bill would provide between $27.5 million and $55 million per year in grants, with the program ending after fiscal year 2025. Each year, the government would report to Congress on which organizations received grants and what populations they're serving.

Young Americans Financial Literacy Act

Carson, André

Young Americans Financial Literacy Act This bill requires the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to award competitive grants to eligible&nbsp;institutions for the establishment of financial literacy education programs for young people and families. An eligible institution is a partnership among two or more of the following <ul> <li>an institution of higher education;</li> <li>a state or local government agency specializing in financial education;</li> <li>a nonprofit agency, organization, or association; </li> <li>a financial institution; or</li> <li>another small organization.</li> </ul> Authorized grant funded activities shall include <ul> <li>developing and implementing comprehensive, research based, financial-literacy education programs for young people;</li> <li>designing instructional materials;</li> <li>developing and supporting the delivery of professional development programs in financial literacy education;</li> <li>improving access to, and dissemination of, financial literacy information for young people and families;</li> <li>developing educational programs to reduce student loan default rates;</li> <li>conducting ongoing research and evaluation of financial literacy education programs; and</li> <li>measuring the effectiveness of authorized activities.</li></ul> The&nbsp;grant program&nbsp;shall terminate&nbsp;after FY2025.