learnfinancewithRhode Island
YES. R.I. Gen. Laws 16-22-13(g): 'Beginning with the graduating class of 2024, all students shall demonstrate PROFICIENCY in consumer education prior to graduating high school.' Mirrored in state regulation as a Diploma System proficiency requirement.
Graduating class of 2024 (per both 16-22-13(g) and 200-RICR-20-10-2 sec. 2.3.2(A)(2)). Course-OFFERING mandate activated 'by the start of the 2022-2023 school year' per 16-22-13(b); the student PROFICIENCY requirement first applies to the class graduating in 2024 (2023-24 school year).
In force — first bound the class of 2024.
- How it may be delivered
- PROFICIENCY-BASED, not a mandated standalone course. LEAs must ensure high schools OFFER a standards-aligned consumer education course (16-22-13(b)), but students may demonstrate proficiency via (1) a standards-aligned course, (2) a supervised project, (3) a standards-aligned assessment in a controlled testing environment, or (4) another council-approved demonstration.
- Credit value
- NO state-specified credit value. Financial literacy is listed in 200-RICR-20-10-2 sec. 2.3.2 as a 'real-world relevant proficiency' requirement, SEPARATE from the 20-credit distribution. RIDE guidance states documentation varies by district (credit, half-credit, supplemental transcript, or pass/fail).
- Instructional-hour rule
- Not yet verified to a primary source — we publish only what we can cite.
- Below high school
- No middle or elementary requirement. 16-22-13(k)(2) only directs RIDE to publish annually 'a list of the middle schools and elementary schools that have incorporated consumer education into their curricula' - VOLUNTARY, no mandate or grade checkpoint. The adopted standards do include grade 4 and grade 8 bands, but the statutory requirement is high-school only.
- State-mandated assessment
- NONE statewide. 16-22-13(g)(3) permits an assessment 'aligned with the standards developed and approved by the council and taken in a controlled testing environment' as one LEA-SELECTED proficiency option; RIDE guidance references district-chosen tools but mandates no state exam or EOC.
- Who may teach it
- Effective JUNE 1, 2025, RIDE guidance states financial literacy 'may be taught by any person holding the following valid Rhode Island certificate(s): 1. Secondary Grades Business Teacher, Grades 6-12; 2. Secondary Grades Mathematics Teacher, Grades 6-12; 3. Secondary Grades Social Studies Teacher, Grades 6-12; or 4. ANY Secondary Grades Certificate with evidence of completion of RIDE-VETTED PROFESSIONAL LEARNING in financial literacy.' 16-22-13(g)(2) requires projects be supervised by a certified educator. AUTO-QUALIFYING: Secondary Business (6-12), Secondary Mathematics (6-12), Secondary Social Studies (6-12). Any OTHER Secondary Grades certificate qualifies only with documented RIDE-vetted financial literacy professional learning.
- State course codes
- Not yet verified to a primary source — we publish only what we can cite.
- Standards framework
- Rhode Island Financial Literacy Standards - RIDE adopts the 'National Standards for Personal Financial Education' (2021) as the state standards (Endorsed by the Council on Elementary and Secondary Education DECEMBER 7, 2021. Source document is the 2021 edition. STATUTORY REVIEW CYCLE BEGINS 2026, then …)
- Funding a district may cite
- Not yet verified to a primary source — we publish only what we can cite.
- State agency contact
- Brittany Brown, RIDE, Brittany.Brown@ride.ri.gov (financial literacy lead); general implementation inbox ReimaginingHS@ride.ri.gov. RIDE, 255 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903, 401-222-4600.
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.