State review · Data version 2026.10.19.5 · October 2026

Indiana

K-8 standards only

Indiana law (IC 20-30-5-19) requires personal financial responsibility instruction in the high school curriculum, and the state board allows schools to offer this instruction to grade 8 students. State financial literacy standards for the end of grade 8 and a middle-level Family and Consumer Sciences course with a Financial Literacy unit exist, but the sources read do not show a K-8 mandate.

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: Not confirmed
Grade range: The text could not be read

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: 8
Standards document: Indiana Academic Standards for Financial Literacy, Financial Literacy Standards for end of 8th Grade (archived) (2011)
Required by law: No
Delivery: Not stated
Assessed: Not determined
Funded: Not determined

IDOE lists the 2011 grade 8 financial literacy standards in its archive section; the middle-level FACS course (grades 6-8) includes a Financial Literacy unit. The IDOE course guide describes grade 8 as a flexibility for schools, not a requirement. The statute text on iga.in.gov could not be read (page requires JavaScript), so the statute is cited through IDOE's description.

Grades 9-12

Graduation requirement: Yes
Course length: One semester Personal Finance course
Effective date: 2029 cohort per the IDOE Personal Finance page; the IDOE 2025-2026 course guide says beginning with the 2028 student cohort

IDOE sources differ on the starting cohort year (2028 vs 2029); the statute text was not read directly.

What’s missing for K-8

State standards name personal-finance concepts at two or more K-8 grade levels, but the sources reviewed did not show a requirement to teach them.

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

Indiana Department of Education. IC 20-30-5-19 (as described by IDOE Personal Finance page). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“each school corporation, charter school, and state-accredited non-public school must include instruction concerning personal financial responsibility in its high school curriculum.”
Indiana Department of Education. IC 20-30-5-19; IDOE Personal Finance page. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“The Indiana High School diploma requires one semester of a Personal Finance course to fulfill their mathematics requirements beginning with the 2029 cohort.”
Indiana Department of Education. IDOE 2025-2026 Elementary and Middle School Course Titles and Descriptions, note 3 (IC 20-30-5-19). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“The Indiana SBOE defined eligible courses for use in fulfilling this graduation requirement along with flexibility to offer this instruction to grade eight students.”
Indiana Department of Education. IDOE course 0492.68 Family and Consumer Sciences, Grades Six-Eight. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“standards for five units of study that are essential for ALL students: Life and Careers, Financial Literacy, Nutrition and Wellness, Human Development, and Relationships.”
Indiana Department of Education. Indiana Academic Standards, Financial Literacy Standards for end of 8th Grade (2011, archived). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“The 8th Grade Financial Literacy standards support Financial Literacy Education.”
Indiana official source (content.govdelivery.com). IDOE memo Feb 5, 2024, Additional Flexibility. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“This course may be taught to students enrolled in grade eight.”

Open items are being reviewed.

The legislature's site (iga.in.gov) serves a JavaScript app that returned no statute or bill text, so IC 20-30-5-19 was not read directly; IDOE's description of it is the primary basis. Secondary summaries mention an earlier grades 6-12 personal financial responsibility provision, which was not confirmed in any primary source read. Pending bills were not searched reliably, so pending_bills is empty. The grade 8 standards are listed by IDOE as archived (dated 10/23/2011), so whether they are current is unconfirmed. 2026-10-19 sweep flag: the official text of IC 20-30-5-19 could not be read (iga.in.gov bot check). IDOE describes the duty as 'in its high school curriculum' but its guidance covers grades eight through 12 and calls grade 8 a flexibility; if the official text says grades 8 through 12 with shall or must, Indiana would be k8_requirement because grade 8 is in K-8.

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