State review · Data version 2026.10.19.5 · October 2026

North Dakota

K-8 standards only

The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction published stand-alone K-12 Financial Literacy Content Standards in July 2025 with separate standards for each grade K-8, and schools are encouraged to align local curriculum to them for 2026-2027. The state financial literacy statute (NDCC 15.1-21-21) is tied to economics or problems of democracy, which are high school courses, and the K-8 required-instruction statute (NDCC 15.1-21-01) does not list personal finance.

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, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Standards document: North Dakota Financial Literacy Content Standards K-12 (Department of Public Instruction) (2025)
Required by law: No
Delivery: Not stated
Assessed: Not determined
Funded: Not determined

The standards are listed by individual grade K-8 and by two grade bands in high school. The DPI page encourages schools and districts to review and align local curriculum and instructional materials to implement the standards fully in 2026-2027. The standards document states that it respects the autonomy of school districts in developing curriculum. No statute or rule text was found requiring districts to teach these standards in K-8. The Administrative Code was not searched in full.

Grades 9-12

Graduation requirement: Yes
Course length: One-half unit of financial literacy, or economics or problems of democracy curriculum that includes personal finance concepts
Effective date: Not stated

NDCC 15.1-21-21 requires each school district to require each student to complete one-half unit of financial literacy or ensure its economics or problems of democracy curriculum exposes students to listed personal finance concepts. HB 1533 (2025) rewrote the list of concepts; the bill actions page shows it was signed by the Governor on 04/23. HB 1533 was signed by the Governor on 2025-04-23 per the bill actions page; an effective date is not stated in the sources 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

North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. North Dakota Financial Literacy Content Standards K-12, July 2025, Introduction (p. 6). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“The standards are divided into individual grade levels in grades K-8.”
North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. North Dakota Financial Literacy Content Standards K-12, July 2025, Introduction (p. 6). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“these standards respect the autonomy of school districts in developing their standards-aligned curriculum.”
North Dakota Department of Public Instruction. DPI Financial Literacy content standards page. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“should review and align local curriculum and instructional materials to implement them fully in 2026-2027.”
North Dakota Legislative Assembly. N.D.C.C. 15.1-21-21(1). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Each school district shall require each student to complete one-half unit of financial literacy or ensure that its curriculum for either economics”
North Dakota Legislative Assembly. N.D.C.C. 15.1-21-01 (list of required subjects: English language arts, mathematics, social studies, science, physical education, health, computer science; no personal finance listed). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“To be approved by the superintendent of public instruction, each public and nonpublic elementary and middle school shall: 1. Provide to students instruction in:”
North Dakota Legislative Assembly. 2025 House Bill 1533 (69th Legislative Assembly), enrolled. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“AN ACT to amend and reenact section 15.1-21-21 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to financial literacy and concepts of personal finance curriculum.”
North Dakota Legislative Assembly. HB 1533 (2025) bill actions. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Signed by Governor 04/23”
North Dakota Legislative Assembly. N.D.C.C. 15.1-21-02.2(1)(d) (high school graduation units). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“(2) (a) One-half unit of United States government and one-half unit of economics; or (b) One unit of problems of democracy”
North Dakota Legislative Assembly. N.D.C.C. 15.1-21-01 (list has no personal finance). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“each public and nonpublic elementary and middle school shall: 1. Provide to students instruction in:”

Open items are being reviewed.

Status chosen on the K-8 question: DPI standards include K-8 financial literacy standards, and no K-8 mandate was found in NDCC 15.1-21-01 or 15.1-21-21 (read in the Century Code chapter 15.1-21 PDF). The statute text read is the chapter PDF on ndlegis.gov; it already shows the concept list as amended by HB 1533. The North Dakota Administrative Code (Title 67 DPI rules) was not searched in full, so a K-8 rule requirement is not ruled out; confidence is medium. Pending bills: the 2027 (70th) Legislative Assembly had not convened as of the retrieval date, and no 2027 bills were searched, so pending_bills is empty. Family guide, connections and disciplinary literacy documents on the DPI page were not read. Flagged on 2026-10-19: North Dakota Century Code 15.1-21-21 says each school district shall require each student to complete one-half unit of financial literacy; read in context as a high school unit, but it names no grade.

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