State review · Data version 1.0 · October 2026

District of Columbia

K-8 standards only

The District's K-12 Social Studies Standards (June 2023) include personal-finance items in kindergarten, grade 1 and grade 8, but no District code section or municipal regulation found requires financial education in grades K-8. OSSE's 2024 Financial Literacy Standards cover grades 9-12 as a standalone elective, and the 24-unit graduation rule (5-A DCMR 2203) lists no financial literacy course.

Statuses come from published law and standards and an automated second check, not a lawyer. Last verified: 2026-10-15. Report a correction

What the law says

Grades K-8

Grades where K-8 content was confirmed: K, 1, 8
Standards document: Washington, DC K-12 Social Studies Standards, 2023 Standards (OSSE) (2023)
Required by law: No
Delivery: Embedded in another subject
Assessed: Not determined
Funded: Not determined

Items found in the social studies standards: K.24 (wants versus needs), K.25 (why people save money and resources), 1.32 (income), 1.34 (personal savings and spending) and 8.17 (policies and personal savings). Other grades and the math standards were not fully reviewed. D.C. Code 38-731.02 only directs the Mayor to submit a plan for financial literacy education in public schools; the text read does not set grade-level instruction. Whether the Council or Mayor acted on that plan was not researched. Legislative bill search for the current session (Council period 26) was not done reliably.

Grades 9-12

Graduation requirement: No
Course length: Not stated
Effective date: 2024-25

OSSE adopted Financial Literacy Standards (grades 9-12) in March 2024 after a State Board of Education vote; they are intended for a standalone elective course beginning school year 2024-25. The 5-A DCMR 2203 text read lists 24 Carnegie Units and does not name a financial literacy course (the PDF copy hosted by OSSE may not reflect later amendments).

What’s missing for K-8

State standards include personal finance in K-8, but the sources reviewed did not show a requirement to teach it.

Pending bills

No pending bills were identified. This is not an exhaustive legislative search.

How to read the status

Status key

K-8 requirement: A statute or rule requires financial education in at least one grade from K to 8.
K-8 standards only: State standards or frameworks include personal finance in K-8, but no mandate to teach it was found.
High school only: A requirement or graduation course exists only in grades 9-12. No K-8 requirement was found.
Study or pilot only: A task force, study, pilot, or unfunded permission exists, without a requirement.
None found: No state-level requirement or standards were found. The searches run are recorded.
Under review: Not yet confirmed. Sources found so far are shown and no status is stated.
Research in progress: This state has not been researched yet.

Sources

Council of the District of Columbia. D.C. Official Code 38-731.02 (D.C. Law 17-209, 55 DCR 6979). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“a plan for the implementation of financial literacy education in public schools.”
Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Washington, DC K-12 Social Studies Standards, 2023, Economics K.25. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“K.25 Explain why people try to save money and resources.”
Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Washington, DC K-12 Social Studies Standards, 2023, Grade 1 standard 1.34. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Explain how wealth and scarcity affect individual and group power and the ability to make decisions about personal savings and spending.”
Office of the State Superintendent of Education. Washington, DC K-12 Social Studies Standards, 2023, Grade 8 standard 8.17. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“Evaluate the efficacy of different government policies in helping individuals increase their personal savings and economic resilience.”
Office of the State Superintendent of Education. OSSE Financial Literacy Standards (Grades 9-12), adopted March 2024. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“The financial literacy standards are intended to be implemented as a standalone, elective course for District high school”
Office of the State Superintendent of Education. OSSE press release, March 2024. Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“adopted Financial Literacy Standards for all DC high school students following a vote from the State Board of Education (SBOE) on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.”
Office of the State Superintendent of Education (copy of District of Columbia Municipal Regulations). 5-A DCMR 2203.3 (Academic Requirements). Primary source. Retrieved 2026-10-15.
“A total of twenty-four (24) Carnegie Units in corresponding subjects and”

Open items are being reviewed.

Primary DC Code page (code.dccouncil.gov) was read; dcregs.dc.gov was not fetched, so 5-A DCMR 2203 was read from an OSSE-hosted copy and could be out of date. The Champlain College 2023 report card (secondary, not cited) reported no personal finance graduation requirement and a 2021 pilot bill that did not pass; a 2023 bill (B25-0241) for high school financial literacy appeared in search results but its official page was not read. Social studies standards were read in the OSSE adopted PDF; a formal State Board of Education adoption resolution for them was not located.

Suggested citation
CENTS. District of Columbia: K-8 financial education. State-by-state review, v1.0, October 2026. https://centscampaign.org/states/dc