learnfinancewithKentucky
YES, and just UPGRADED. KRS 158.1411. The requirement was materially strengthened by HB 342 (2025): students entering grade 9 on or after July 1, 2025 must successfully complete a ONE (1) CREDIT course in financial literacy.
ORIGINAL requirement: students entering grade 9 on or after the first day of the 2020-2021 school year, i.e. the graduating CLASS OF 2024 (NOT the class of 2020, which is commonly misreported). NEW one-credit course requirement: students entering grade 9 on or after July 1, 2025, i.e. the graduating CLASS OF 2029. Original 'course or program' requirement activated 2020-2021. ONE-CREDIT course requirement activated with the 2025-2026 school year (HB 342 effective 06/27/2025); the conforming 704 KAR 3:305 amendment was approved 02/04/2026, filed 02/10/2026, effective 07/06/2026.
In force — first bound the class of 2024.
- How it may be delivered
- TWO-TIER. LEGACY cohort (entering grade 9 on or before June 30, 2025): 'successful completion of one (1) or more courses OR PROGRAMS that meet the financial literacy standards' - embedded/flexible, no credit specified. NEW cohort (grade 9 on/after July 1, 2025): a STANDALONE ONE-CREDIT COURSE; the 'or program' option is GONE. The superintendent determines curriculum after consulting the local board, SBDM council and each high school principal.
- Credit value
- Not yet verified to a primary source — we publish only what we can cite.
- Instructional-hour rule
- Not yet verified to a primary source — we publish only what we can cite.
- Below high school
- No middle or elementary financial literacy graduation requirement and no grade checkpoint. 704 KAR 8:080 directs schools to use the financial literacy DOMAIN standards for grades 9-12 to meet the graduation requirement; only the Essential Skills domain is required across all grade bands. The standards document does contain K-3, 4-5 and 6-8 financial literacy expectations, but they are not a mandate.
- State-mandated assessment
- NONE. Neither KRS 158.1411, HB 132 (2018), HB 342 (2025), 704 KAR 3:305, 704 KAR 8:080, nor KDE's course code guidance establishes a state financial literacy assessment or EOC; the requirement is satisfied by successful course completion.
- Who may teach it
- NO standalone financial literacy certification. KDE's HB 342 guidance states additional teacher certifications - BUSINESS, FAMILY/CONSUMER SCIENCES, MATH and ECONOMICS - have been added to course code 080719, and that 'CTE teachers may teach a general content area course if they hold a current certification within the academic area or are team-teaching the course with a certified content teacher.' Per-course certification lists are published under the 'details' link for each course in the Searchable State Course Codes Database (SSCCD).
- State course codes
- 080719 — Financial Literacy (formerly Personal Finance) (HIGH confidence) — PRIMARY code for the HB 342 one-credit requirement. Valid for 2026-2027 and beyond. · 080780; 060301; 080772; 600181; 600182 — Business Math (Math Credit); Introduction to Finance; Business Math (CTE Credit); Basic Money Skills (SpEd); Money Skills for Independent Living (SpEd) (HIGH confidence) — Also valid for 2026-27 and beyond. HIGH-VALUE: 080780 Business Math can earn BOTH the financial literacy elective AND a third/fourth-year personalized math credit. · 201011; 201010; 060170 — Financial Literacy for Mathematics; Money Skills; Personal Finance (CTE Credit) (HIGH confidence) — *** DEPRECATED AS OF 2026-2027. *** These three codes deprecate, forcing schedule rework. Do not use.
- Standards framework
- Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Career Studies and Financial Literacy - financial literacy is a DOMAIN within the broader Career Studies standards, not a standalone document (JUNE 2025 edition, incorporated by reference in 704 KAR 8:080 as amended)
- Funding a district may cite
- No appropriation or named KDE funding program attaches to the graduation requirement. The separate KENTUCKY FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT COMMISSION (KFEC), created in the 2019 session and administratively attached to the OFFICE OF THE STATE TREASURER, procures and delivers a high school financial literacy program; its RFP notes KFEC 'will have limited available funds' and states no award amounts.
- State agency contact
- Sharon Collins, KDE Office of Career and Technical Education, Division of Student Transition and Career Readiness, 300 Sower Blvd., 5th Floor, Frankfort, KY 40601; sharon.collins@education.ky.gov; (502) 564-4286 ext. 4275. Also named: Sarah Medley (Office of Teaching and Learning), Lauren Graves (OCTE).
Facts on this page last verified 2026-08-09; every pack is re-verified on a six-month cadence, and anything we cannot cite is marked rather than guessed.
The district awards the credit — no platform can. Ours is designed to align with the state’s learning standards, and it produces the documentation a district needs to award credit: the course object with its federal course code, a pass determination that shows its arithmetic, an hour ledger that counts only observed instructional minutes, and a verified record of demonstrated mastery for every student.