learnfinancewithMassachusetts
NO state financial literacy graduation requirement. The only state graduation standard is the Competency Determination in 603 CMR 30.03, covering ELA, mathematics and science/tech-engineering coursework only (plus a one-year U.S. history course starting with the class of 2027). Financial literacy is a LOCAL OPTION.
See the requirement summary.
- How it may be delivered
- LOCAL OPTION ONLY. The 2018 History and Social Science Framework states its personal financial literacy standards 'may be used as stand-alone electives or integrated into a variety of other subjects.' DESE's own study found only about 12% of high schools require a PFL course and 73% of districts require none.
- 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 requirement and no grade checkpoint. DESE's own review notes framework guidance is 'new and limited to high schools / little to no guidance on personal financial education in grades K-8', with only incidental money topics in early-grade math.
- State-mandated assessment
- NONE. No state financial literacy assessment or EOC; 603 CMR 30.00 contains no such test, and MCAS passage was removed as a graduation condition by the 2024 ballot law, leaving locally certified coursework in ELA, math and science only.
- Who may teach it
- Not yet verified to a primary source — we publish only what we can cite.
- State course codes
- Not yet verified to a primary source — we publish only what we can cite.
- Standards framework
- Massachusetts History and Social Science Curriculum Framework (2018), containing the high school 'Standards for Personal Financial Literacy' section (Electives portion, approx. p.173) (Adopted by BESE JUNE 26, 2018; published document dated December 2018. Still listed as the current HSS framework.)
- Funding a district may cite
- TWO real streams despite no mandate: (1) DESE FUND CODE 104 'Financial Literacy Planning and Implementation' competitive grant (state line item 7010-1194; about $250,000 available, up to $15,000 per LEA in the FY2024 round) for materials, curriculum, PD and experiential learning. (2) The STATE TREASURER'S Office of Economic Empowerment runs the Financial Education Innovation Fund (funds high school Credit for Life-style fairs; e.g. 47 schools / $121,447 in one round), financed by Division of Banks settlements.
- State agency contact
- DESE, 75 Pleasant St., Malden MA 02148 - Fund Code 104 program contact Reuben Henriques, Reuben.F.Henriques@mass.gov (submissions cisgrants@mass.gov). Treasurer's Office of Economic Empowerment: empowerment@tre.state.ma.us, 617-367-6900.
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.