State review · Data version 2026.10.19.5 · October 2026

Mississippi

Requirement before grade 9

Senate Bill 2294 (2026, in effect July 1, 2026) directs the State Board of Education to incorporate financial literacy components within the existing curriculum in Grades 6-8 beginning in the 2027-2028 school year. The same section requires a one-half Carnegie Unit personal finance course (or a full unit with at least half of its standards on financial literacy) for a diploma beginning with the graduating class of 2032.

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: Grade 6
Grade range: grades 6-12

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 required: 6, 7, 8
Standards document: Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Social Studies (2022 filing; kindergarten and grade 2 money standards cited) (2022)
Required by law: Yes
Delivery: Embedded in another subject
Assessed: Not determined
Funded: Not determined

Section 25 of SB 2294 applies from the 2027-2028 school year and says the components go within the existing curriculum offered in Grades 6-8; it applies to accredited schools including public charter schools. The text read does not say whether the content is assessed or separately funded (the bill's funding section refers to Sections 13 through 23, not Section 25). Separately, the 2022 social studies standards already include economics objectives in kindergarten through grade 2 (for example earning money, saving versus spending, budgets, financial institutions); that is standards content, not a mandate. State Board or Department of Education implementing standards for Grades 6-8 were not located; mdek12.org was not accessible.

Grades 9-12

Graduation requirement: Yes
Course length: One-half Carnegie Unit personal finance course, or a full Carnegie Unit course where at least one-half of the course standards concern financial literacy
Effective date: Graduating class of 2032

Section 25(3) of SB 2294 sets this requirement for Grade 9, 10, 11 or 12. Before this act, Section 37-7-301 allowed (but did not require) district school boards to implement a financial literacy program for Grades 10 and 11, and a 2020 College- and Career-Readiness course curriculum filed with the Secretary of State includes a Financial Literacy unit. A news report quoting a Department of Education official says students taking the College- and Career-Readiness course meet the requirement; that was not confirmed in primary text.

What’s missing for K-8

A requirement was found that reaches a grade before ninth (6, 7, 8).
Instruction is embedded in another subject rather than a stand-alone course.

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

Mississippi Legislature. SB 2294 (2026 Regular Session), Section 25(2), the J.P. Wilemon, Jr., Financial Literacy Act. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Beginning in the 2027-2028 school year, the State Board of Education shall incorporate financial literacy components within the existing curriculum offered in Grades 6-8.”
Mississippi Legislature. SB 2294 (2026 Regular Session), Section 25(3); amends Miss. Code Ann. 37-16-7 effective July 1, 2027 (Section 26). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“each student, during Grade 9, 10, 11 or 12, shall take and pass a one-half (1/2) Carnegie Unit course in personal finance”
Mississippi Legislature. SB 2294 (2026 Regular Session) bill status history; status Law; effective July 1, 2026 (Section 32). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“04/08 Approved by Governor”
Mississippi Legislature. Miss. Code Ann. 37-7-301(rr) (pre-July 1, 2027 text as reproduced in SB 2294, Section 27). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“(rr) To implement a financial literacy program for students in Grades 10 and 11.”
Mississippi Secretary of State (Administrative Code filing of State Board of Education standards). Miss. Admin. Code Title 7, Part 193: Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Standards for Social Studies (2022), Standard K.E.1. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Distinguish saving from spending.”
Mississippi Secretary of State (Administrative Code filing of State Board of Education standards). Miss. Admin. Code Title 7, Part 193 (2022), Standard 2.E.4. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Identify various types of financial institutions and their role in the”
Mississippi Secretary of State (Administrative Code filing of State Board of Education curriculum). Miss. Admin. Code Title 7, Part 212: Mississippi College- and Career-Readiness Course Curriculum (2020), Unit 6: Financial Literacy. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Compare sources of personal income and compensation and analyze factors that affect net income.”
WLOX. WLOX / RHCJC News, July 26, 2026 (news report on SB 2294). Secondary lead, used as a cross-check only. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Beginning with the 2027-28 school year, Mississippi public schools will be required to provide financial literacy instruction for students in grades 6-8.”
Mississippi Legislature. SB 2294 Sec. 27, Miss. Code 37-7-301(rr) as amended, version effective July 1, 2027 (extraction shows strike/insert text merged). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“Current curriculum for Grades 6-12 shall include content on financial literacy education.”

Open items are being reviewed.

Status rests on the enrolled-as-sent-to-Governor text of SB 2294 (status Law, approved April 8, 2026) read on the legislature's site; the codified Mississippi Code was not read on an official site because the legislature does not host the Code. The Mississippi Department of Education site (mdek12.org) returned 403 Forbidden on robots.txt and was not accessed, so no State Board policy or implementing grade 6-8 standards were checked. Section 25 is the operative text; the later-date version of Section 37-7-301 in the same bill (effective July 1, 2027) also refers to incorporating financial literacy components in Grades 6-8. pending_bills is empty because 2027-session bills were not searched. The Secretary of State filings of the social studies standards cited here are under a proposed-rule path; final adoption was not confirmed. Confidence is medium because Section 25 directs the State Board rather than districts and no implementing standards were found.

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