State review · Data version 2026.10.19.5 · October 2026

Alabama

No K-8 personal-finance standards found

Alabama law requires a personal financial literacy course for students entering ninth grade in 2024-25 and later (HB164 and State Board rule 290-3-1-.02), and no K-8 requirement was found. The 2024 social studies course of study names earning, saving and spending only in kindergarten, so its K-8 standards do not name a personal-finance concept at two or more grade levels.

Statuses come from published law and standards and an automated second check, not a lawyer. Last verified: 2026-10-19. Report a correction

What the law says

Requirement coverage

Earliest grade covered: Grade 9
Grade range: grades 9-12

Describes the instruction requirement found in law, not the standards. It may reach at least one grade before ninth (the earliest grade is shown, and some start only in grade 6 or 7), no grade at all (not specified), or high school only. \u201cOffer courses\u201d means the law says districts must offer the courses or instruction, not that every student must receive it.

Grades K-8

Grades where K-8 content was confirmed: K
Standards document: 2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies (2024)
Required by law: No
Delivery: Embedded in another subject
Assessed: No
Funded: Not determined

Kindergarten economics standards 4-6 cover earning, saving and spending money, exchange, and needs versus wants; grade 1 standard 3a covers using money to acquire goods and services. Grades 2-8 social studies and the 2019 Mathematics Course of Study were not fully reviewed for personal finance content. The preface states the content standards are minimum and required under Code of Alabama 16-35-4 (the statute text itself was not read); no statute or rule read here requires a stand-alone K-8 financial education course or assessment.

Grades 9-12

Graduation requirement: Yes
Course length: Course in personal financial literacy and money management; Rule 290-3-1-.02 lists Career Preparedness (1 credit) and the financial literacy instruction and examination are completed as part of that course
Effective date: Students entering ninth grade in the 2024-2025 school year

HB164 (2023) requires each such student to complete the course before graduation, and requires the State Department of Education to create a financial literacy examination. Rule 290-3-1-.02(22)(c) sets a 50-question multiple-choice examination completed as part of the required career preparedness course.

What’s missing for K-8

The sources reviewed show a requirement for high school. No requirement for any grade before ninth, and no K-8 standards naming a personal-finance concept at two or more grade levels, were found. That describes what was found, not proof that none exist.

Pending bills

No pending bills were identified. This is not an exhaustive legislative search.

How to read the status

Status key

Requirement before grade 9: A statute or rule requires financial education and reaches at least one grade before ninth. Some start only in grade 6 or 7; the earliest grade is shown with the label.
Requirement, grades not specified: A statute or rule says students shall receive financial-literacy instruction but names no grade, so it is not confirmed to reach K-8.
K-8 standards only: State standards name a personal-finance concept at two or more K-8 grade levels, but no requirement to teach it was found.
No K-8 personal-finance standards found: A high school requirement exists, but no requirement for any grade before ninth and no K-8 standards naming a personal-finance concept at two or more grade levels were found. This describes what was found, not proof that none exist.
Study or pilot only: A task force, study, pilot, or unfunded permission exists, without a requirement.
None found: No state-level requirement or standards were found. The searches run are recorded.
Under review: Not yet confirmed. Sources found so far are shown and no status is stated.
Research in progress: This state has not been researched yet.

Sources

Alabama State Department of Education. 2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies, Kindergarten, Economics standard 4. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“Explain the process of earning, saving, and spending money.”
Alabama State Department of Education. 2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies, Grade 1, Economics standard 3a. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“Explain the concept of using money to acquire goods and services to satisfy needs and wants.”
Alabama State Department of Education. 2024 Alabama Course of Study: Social Studies, Preface (citing Code of Alabama 1975, 16-35-4). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“Content standards in this document are minimum and required”
Alabama State Department of Education. Code of Alabama 1975, 16-35-4 (text reproduced on the Department's Academic Standards page). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“shall prescribe the minimum contents of courses of study for all public, elementary and high schools in the state”
Alabama Legislature (archived copy of enrolled bill PDF). Alabama HB164 (2023 Regular Session), Enrolled, Section 1(a). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19. Archived copy captured 2025-04-06; original agency address: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/files/pdf/SearchableInstruments/2023RS/HB164-enr.pdf.
“each student shall complete a course in personal financial literacy and money management before graduation from high school.”
Alabama State Board of Education. Alabama Administrative Code r. 290-3-1-.02(22)(c). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“Effective for students in the ninth grade in the 2024-2025 school year, all students shall complete a multiple-choice financial literacy”
Alabama State Board of Education. Alabama Administrative Code r. 290-3-1-.02(22)(c)1.. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“shall be completed as part of the required course in career preparedness.”
Alabama State Department of Education. Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-3-1-.02(22)(c) (effective for ninth graders 2024-25; completed as part of career preparedness course). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“all students shall complete a multiple-choice financial literacy examination made available to local boards for education by the Alabama State Department of Education.”

Open items are being reviewed.

Re-read 2026-10-19: COS Social Studies PDF (all excerpts verified verbatim), HB164 via archived copy of the enrolled PDF, Rule 290-3-1-.02 (verified), and the Department page reproducing 16-35-4. Judgement call: the preface makes the COS standards 'minimum and required' under 16-35-4, so kindergarten and grade 1 money items are required content, but they are embedded economics standards, not a financial education mandate; coded k8_standards_only per methodology, and a reader could treat them as a K-1 requirement. Confidence medium because the statute text comes from the agency page rather than the code publisher and the Math COS was not read. Changed from k8_standards_only to high_school_only under the 2026-10-19 two-grade-level rule. Judgement call: grade 1 standard 3a (using money to acquire goods and services to satisfy needs and wants) describes spending without naming it; counting it would restore k8_standards_only. The 2019 Mathematics Course of Study was not read.

Suggested citation
CENTS. Alabama: K-8 financial education. State-by-state review, v2026.10.19.5, October 2026. https://www.centscampaign.org/states/al