State review · Data version 2026.10.19.5 · October 2026

Texas

Requirement before grade 9

Texas Education Code 28.0021(a) directs that the state's essential knowledge and skills (TEKS) include personal financial literacy in mathematics instruction in kindergarten through grade eight, and the adopted Chapter 111 mathematics TEKS contain a personal financial literacy strand in each of those grades. Districts must implement the TEKS; the statute does not itself prescribe a separate K-8 course, assessment, or funding.

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: Kindergarten
Grade range: kindergarten to grade 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: K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8
Standards document: Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills for Mathematics, 19 TAC Chapter 111, Subchapters A and B (2012 adoption) (2012)
Required by law: Yes
Delivery: Embedded in another subject
Assessed: Not determined
Funded: Not determined

Delivery is within mathematics instruction (TEC 28.0021(a)(1)). Each grade K-8 TEKS in 19 TAC 111.2-111.7 and 111.26-111.28 has a 'Personal financial literacy' student expectation strand; the 2025 middle school advanced mathematics sections (111.29-111.31) also include one. Whether the topic is assessed or separately funded was not verified. The current-effect Chapter 111 documents retrieved are TEA postings of the rule text; a statewide mathematics TEKS review may revise them. Chapter 118 (economics) was not retrieved and is not relied on.

Grades 9-12

Graduation requirement: Yes
Course length: one-half credit personal financial literacy course
Effective date: Students entering grade 9 in 2026-2027 or later (HB 27, 89th Legislature, R.S.)

TEC 28.0021(b) requires districts with a high school program to offer a one-half credit elective course in personal financial literacy. HB 27 (2025) amends TEC 28.025(b-1) so that the foundation program social studies credits include at least one-half credit in personal financial literacy for the 2026-2027 ninth-grade cohort and later; SBOE has proposed new 19 TAC 113.26 to align the course TEKS.

What’s missing for K-8

A requirement was found that reaches a grade before ninth (K, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 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

Texas State Board of Education. Tex. Educ. Code 28.0021(a)(1) (as posted by the State Board of Education). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“The Texas essential knowledge and skills and, as applicable, Section 28.025 shall include instruction in personal financial literacy”
Texas State Board of Education. Tex. Educ. Code 28.0021(b). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“shall provide an elective course in personal financial literacy that meets the requirements for a one-half elective credit under Section 28.025”
Texas Education Agency / State Board of Education. 19 TAC 111.1(a) (Mathematics TEKS, Elementary, adopted 2012). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“The provisions of §§111.2-111.7 of this subchapter shall be implemented by school districts.”
Texas Education Agency / State Board of Education. 19 TAC 111.2(b)(9) (Kindergarten); same strand in 111.3-111.7. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Personal financial literacy. The student applies mathematical process standards to manage one's financial resources effectively for lifetime financial security.”
Texas Education Agency / State Board of Education. 19 TAC 111.28(b)(12)(A) (Grade 8); strand also in 111.26 and 111.27. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“solve real-world problems comparing how interest rate and loan length affect the cost of credit;”
Texas Legislature. H.B. 27, 89th Leg., R.S. (2025), enrolled, sec. 3 (amending Tex. Educ. Code 28.025(b-1)). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“applies only to students entering the ninth grade during the 2026-2027 school year or a later school year.”
Texas Education Agency / State Board of Education. SBOE proposed new 19 TAC 113.26, Personal Financial Literacy (rulemaking, 2026). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“would update the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) for the high school personal financial literacy course”
Texas State Board of Education. Tex. Educ. Code 28.0021(a). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“shall include instruction in personal financial literacy, including instruction in methods of paying for college and other postsecondary education and training, in:”
Texas Education Agency / State Board of Education. 19 TAC 111.2 (Kindergarten) para (9). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-19.
“(9) Personal financial literacy. The student applies mathematical process standards to manage one's financial resources effectively for lifetime financial security.”

Open items are being reviewed.

Reading is a judgement call on one point: 28.0021(a) says the TEKS 'shall include' K-8 personal financial literacy in mathematics instruction, and 111.1(a) says the elementary sections 'shall be implemented by school districts' (the middle school implementation section 111.25 was not separately excerpted), so status is recorded as k8_requirement with delivery embedded in math. Pending bills: the 89th Legislature (2025) regular and special sessions have ended and the 90th convenes in January 2027; the legislature's bill-lookup pages are disallowed by capitol.texas.gov robots.txt, so no search of prefiled 90th bills was possible and pending_bills is left empty. tea.texas.gov and texreg.sos.state.tx.us were consulted only where robots.txt permitted (TEA's PDFs under /laws-and-rules were fetched). statutes.capitol.texas.gov is a script-rendered site that returned no statute text to a plain fetch, so the SBOE-posted copy of TEC 28.0021 was used. HB 27 enactment date was not read from an official page; the enrolled text was used.

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