State review · Data version 2026.10.19.5 · October 2026

Massachusetts

K-8 standards only

The 2018 History and Social Science Framework includes economics standards on income, buying and saving in grades 1 and 2, and a personal financial literacy standards set written for high school. State law lets the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education include financial literacy in standards and the single statute section read does not require instruction in any grade, and a House-passed bill (H.4670) that would require it for middle and high school is pending in the Senate.

Statuses come from published law and standards and an automated second check, not a lawyer. Last verified: 2026-10-15. 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: 1, 2
Standards document: Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for History and Social Science (2018) (2018)
Required by law: No
Delivery: Embedded in another subject
Assessed: Not determined
Funded: Not determined

Personal finance topics found in K-8 are within economics strands (earning income, buying goods and services, saving); the framework's separate Personal Financial Literacy standards are labelled High School Standards. Grades 3-8 economics content was not reviewed line by line. No statute or rule found that requires teaching these standards.

Grades 9-12

Graduation requirement: Not determined
Course length: Standards designed to be taught for a quarter to a half of a school year
Effective date: Not stated

The framework says the personal financial literacy standards may be used as stand-alone electives or integrated into other subjects. No primary source on a graduation requirement was located in this review.

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

H.4670 (194th General Court (2025-2026)): An Act relative to personal financial literacy education. Status: Passed House 155-0 on 2025-10-29; referred to Senate Committee on Ways and Means 2025-10-30.

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

Massachusetts General Court. M.G.L. c. 69, section 1D. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“The board may also include the teaching of family life skills, financial literacy and consumer skills, and basic career exploration and employability skills.”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for History and Social Science (2018), Grade 1 and Grade 2, Topic: Economics: resources and choices, standard 9. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Compare and contrast reasons why people save some of their money”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for History and Social Science (2018), Kindergarten introduction. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“reasons for working, using money, and purchasing goods and services”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for History and Social Science (2018), High School Electives overview. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“financial literacy and news/media literacy are included and may be used as stand-alone electives or integrated into a variety of other subjects”
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Massachusetts Curriculum Framework for History and Social Science (2018), High School Standards for Personal Financial Literacy. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“These standards, designed to be taught for a quarter to a half of a school year”
Massachusetts General Court. H.4670 (194th General Court), proposed M.G.L. c. 71, section 102(a). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Every school district shall, for the purpose of educating middle school and high school students, provide instruction on personal financial literacy”
Massachusetts General Court. H.4670 bill history, 2025-10-29; Senate referral 2025-10-30. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Passed to be engrossed - 155 YEAS to 0 NAYS”
Massachusetts General Court. H.627 bill history, 2025-10-29. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“New draft substituted, see H4670”
Massachusetts General Court. M.G.L. c. 71, s. 1 (required subjects list; no financial literacy). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“shall give instruction and training in orthography, reading, writing, the English language and grammar, geography, arithmetic, drawing, music, the history and constitution of the United”

Open items are being reviewed.

M.G.L. c. 69 s. 1D (read in full for the financial literacy reference) uses 'may' for financial literacy; no statute found requiring personal finance instruction. The framework is the 2018 History and Social Science Framework; a December 2021 supplement exists but was not reviewed. DESE robots.txt sets a 15 second crawl delay, which was observed. Graduation requirement status not confirmed from a primary source. H.4670's status is as shown on the legislature page retrieved 2026-10-15; its text would limit instruction to middle and high school if enacted. H.627 was reported with a substitute draft that became H.4670. Confidence is medium: only one statute section was read and grades 3-8 were not reviewed line by line.

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