North Carolina requires all students to take a full-credit Economics and Personal Finance course as a requirement to graduate, beginning with the students entering the 9th grade in the 2020-2021 school year. This course has been legislated by N.C. Session Law 2019-82, House Bill 924.  The North Carolina Board of Education provides standards and objectives for the course that “provide students the opportunity to engage in intensive application of the skills, concepts, processes, and knowledge gained in previous social studies courses and prepare them to be college, career, and civic ready.”

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2017 Chapter 126 (House Bill 135) requires that “instruction shall be provided in personal financial literacy for all students.” Financial literacy is embedded in North Carolina’s K-12 Social Studies standards. The Economic and Financial Literacy strand is in each grade’s North Carolina Social Studies Essential Standards, with specific standards and Clarifying Objectives. The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction also provides Social Studies Unpacking Standards and Crosswalks which provide further clarification and resources for each grade’s standards. 

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The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction website has a page dedicated to Personal Financial Literacy. It provides Resources, Best Practices, Curriculum Options, and Financial Webinets for elementary, middle, and secondary grades. The page also provides resources and information for students and parents and community members. North Carolina also has a legislated Financial Literacy Council to “monitor and assist the Department of Public Instruction in the coordination of statewide delivery of financial education within the public-school system,” among other duties.

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North Carolina receives an “A” for providing financial literacy instruction from kindergarten through grade 12, including a required stand-alone personal finance course for high school graduation. Additionally, North Carolina provides a dedicated site for personal finance resources.