In Kansas State Statutes, it is mandated that “the state board of education shall develop state curriculum standards for personal financial literacy, for all grade levels, within the existing mathematics curriculum or another appropriate subject-matter curriculum.” The Kansas State Department of Education has officially adopted the Jump$tart National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education as the Kansas financial literacy K-12 standards. The standards are recognized in Business, Family and Consumer Sciences, Mathematics, and Social Studies. “The National Jump$tart standards are used as a guide for instruction. They are indicated for Kindergarten, 4th, 8th and 12 grades, however should be referenced to determine all K-12 financial literacy instruction to determine grade appropriateness.” 

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Also, in the same statute, it mandates that “the state board of education shall include questions relating to personal financial literacy in the statewide assessments for mathematics or social studies.” It is unclear how financial literacy is tested in the statewide assessments. The Mathematics and ELA standards for which the Grades 3-8 and 10 statewide assessments are based do not include financial literacy. 

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The Kansas State Department of Education has a Financial Literacy website “to offer support to local districts concerning personal financial literacy instruction for K-12 schools.” It houses the information on the Council of Economic Education and Jump$tart standards and includes a financial literacy resource list. In 2021, the Kansas legislature passed HB 2039 which would require both a civics test and “for grades 10, 11, and 12, a personal financial literacy course to be at least one semester or two quarters in length. However, Governor Laura Kelly vetoed the bill stating legislative overreach. In 2022, the Kansas Board of Education made changes to its graduation requirements, notably adding at least a half unit course in financial literacy and requiring all students to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (although students and families will have the ability to opt out of this “requirement.”)

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Kansas receives a “B” for ensuring some financial literacy instruction through the adaptation of the Jump$tart standards and the new requirements of a half unit personal finance course. In order to receive an “A,” Kansas needs to clarify specific financial literacy standards for Grades K-8.