State review · Data version 2026.10.19.5 · October 2026

Kansas

K-8 standards only

The Kansas State Board of Education approved the 2021 national personal finance standards in July 2022 and the Department's crosswalk says they were adopted as the Kansas financial literacy K-12 standards, with benchmarks for grade 4 and grade 8 that name saving, credit, borrowing and budgeting. Kansas Statute 72-3236 only directs the Board to develop standards and make curriculum available for districts to use, so no requirement to teach was found.

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: No requirement found
Grade range: No requirement found in the text checked

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: 4, 8
Standards document: National Standards for Personal Financial Education (Council for Economic Education and Jump$tart Coalition), adopted as Kansas financial literacy K-12 standards (2022)
Required by law: No
Delivery: Not stated
Assessed: Yes
Funded: Not determined

K.S.A. 72-3236(c) requires the State Board to develop standards for all grade levels within mathematics or another appropriate subject; (b) says districts 'may use' the Board's curriculum. K.S.A. 72-3236(e) requires financial literacy questions in statewide mathematics or social studies assessments. The KSDE crosswalk (June 1, 2022) has sections for Kindergarten-Grade 4 and Grades 5-8. No text read requires a K-8 course or instruction in a named grade.

Grades 9-12

Graduation requirement: Yes
Course length: One-half unit (KSDE describes a one-semester course)
Effective date: Class of 2028

KSDE says Kansas now requires one-half unit of financial literacy, starting with the Class of 2028 (KSDE page). The Kansas Register item is a notice of hearing on a proposed amendment to K.A.R. 91-31-35; the adopted regulation text was not read.

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

Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. K.S.A. 72-3236(c). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“develop state curriculum standards for personal financial literacy, for all grade levels, within the existing mathematics curriculum or another appropriate subject-matter curriculum.”
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. K.S.A. 72-3236(b). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“curriculum, materials and guidelines that local boards of education and governing authorities of accredited nonpublic schools may use in implementing the program of instruction”
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. K.S.A. 72-3236(e). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“The state board of education shall include questions relating to personal financial literacy in the statewide assessments for mathematics or social studies”
Kansas State Department of Education. KSDE Financial Literacy webpage. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Kansas now requires high school students, starting with the Class of 2028, to complete a one‑semester financial literacy course to graduate.”
Kansas State Department of Education. KSDE Financial Literacy webpage, Standards section. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Jump$tart Coalition (Adopted by the Kansas Board of Education July 2022)”
Kansas State Department of Education. KSDE Financial Literacy Crosswalk, June 1, 2022. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“were adopted as the Kansas financial literacy K-12 standards”
Kansas Secretary of State (Kansas Register). Kansas Register Vol. 43, Issue 5, Feb. 1, 2024: notice of hearing on a proposed amendment to K.A.R. 91-31-35. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“an added requirement for one-half unit of financial literacy”
Kansas State Department of Education. KSDE Graduation Requirements Fact Sheet, Class of 2028 and beyond. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“One half unit of financial literacy.”
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. K.S.A. 72-3236(a). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“the state board of education shall authorize and assist in the implementation of programs on teaching personal financial literacy”
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. K.S.A. 72-3236(b). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“curriculum, materials and guidelines that local boards of education and governing authorities of accredited nonpublic schools may use”
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. K.S.A. 72-3236(c). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“develop state curriculum standards for personal financial literacy, for all grade levels, within the existing mathematics curriculum”
Kansas State Department of Education. KSDE, Summary of the July 2022 State Board of Education Meeting, Action. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“Approved the 2021 National Standards for Personal Finance Financial Literacy Standards as presented at the June Board meeting”
Kansas State Department of Education. KSDE Financial Literacy Crosswalk (June 1, 2022), Introduction. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“were adopted as the Kansas financial literacy K-12 standards”
Kansas State Department of Education. National Standards for Personal Financial Education (CEE/Jump$tart 2021) as hosted by KSDE, Introduction. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“Standards identify specific information that a student should understand at the completion of the given grade level.”
Kansas State Department of Education. KSDE Financial Literacy Crosswalk, Contents. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“KINDERGARTEN-GRADE 4”
Kansas State Department of Education. KSDE Financial Literacy webpage, Standards. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“Adopted by the Kansas Board of Education July 2022”
Kansas State Department of Education. Kansas financial literacy standards, Saving 4-2a. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“Map out a savings plan designed to achieve a future purchase objective.”
Kansas State Department of Education. Kansas financial literacy standards, Saving 8-1b. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“Create a savings plan that will allow someone to make a large purchase in one year, 5 years, and 10 years.”
Kansas State Department of Education. Kansas financial literacy standards, Managing Credit 4-1a. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“Explain why a person who borrows $100 to buy something, often must pay back more than $100 at a future date.”
Kansas State Department of Education. Kansas financial literacy standards, Managing Credit 8-1b. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“Compare lenders based on type of credit offered, interest rates, and fees.”
Kansas State Department of Education. Kansas financial literacy standards, Spending 8-1b. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“Create a budget that includes expenses and savings out of a given amount of income.”
Kansas State Department of Education. Kansas financial literacy standards, Earning Income 4-1a. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“List different types of jobs.”

Open items are being reviewed.

Status judged from K.S.A. 72-3236, which directs standards, optional-use curriculum and assessment questions rather than requiring instruction in named grades; confidence medium because the full text of K.A.R. 91-31-35 and the standards' K-8 benchmarks were not read in full (the standards PDF and crosswalk confirm K-4 and 5-8 sections). Third-party sources gave Class of 2027 vs KSDE's Class of 2028; KSDE is followed. Pending bills for the 2025-26 session were not reliably searched, so pending_bills is empty. Moved from k8_standards_only to needs_review after the grade-level audit. What would settle it: the KSDE 'Vocabulary by Standard and Grade Level' document if it assigns concepts to individual grades (the URLs tried returned 404), and K.A.R. 91-31-35. Settled on 2026-10-19: adoption is shown by the Board's July 2022 action summary and the KSDE crosswalk; named concepts appear at the grade 4 and grade 8 benchmarks (the same national document Vermont adopted). Medium confidence: the Board's July 2022 minutes and KSDE's 'Vocabulary by Standard and Grade Level' PDF could not be read (404), and K.A.R. 91-31-35 was not read.

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