Idaho State Department of Education

There are big changes coming to financial literacy for grades 9-12. Idaho passed House Bill (HB) 92 requiring each LEA serving students in grades 9-12 to offer financial literacy courses, beginning with the 2023-2024 school year.

Parallel to this effort, the State Board of Education updated the high school graduation requirement around social studies to include a financial literacy component:

“Social Studies. Five (5) credits are required, including government (two (2) credits), United States history (two (2) credits) and economics/financial literacy (one (1) credit).”

Financial Literacy Core Competencies/Standards

Financial literacy for the 2023-2024 school year will be taught based on these core competencies in HB 92 (2023):

1. Recognize the influence of money on human behavior;
2. Learn about various types of bank accounts;
3. Evaluate various investment options and calculate net worth;
4. Learn about various types of credit and how credit rating is determined;
5. Understand the essentials of financing a college education;
6. Evaluate various types of insurance associated with independent living;
7. Recognize the purpose of the tax system and how it relates to each citizen and the citizen's income;
8. Build a budget for independent living; and
9. Recognize and utilize modern consumer skills, tools, and practices.

The State Department of Education is reviewing social studies standards this summer (2023) and plans to include new financial literacy standards for the 2024-2025 school year.

Free Resources

EconEdLink: Created by the Council for Economic Education, which promotes economic and financial literacy, EconEdLink offers many different K-12 personal finance resources and economics resources, providing high-quality lesson plans, videos, activities, professional development, assessments, and much more.

GEAR UP Idaho: Don't Get Debt Slapped: The SDE GEAR UP Idaho program worked with a non-profit with understanding debt and college savings.

Jump$tart: Free resources for educators teaching financial literacy.

Next Gen Personal Finance (NGPF): From quick lessons to semester and full-year curriculum, NGPF offers free resources, lessons, activities, all of which are supported by high-quality professional development.

Next Steps Idaho: (Video Library): Cap ED provides some free curriculum on the State Board of Education’s Next Steps program with both lesson plans and video regarding a variety of financial literacy topics.

Take Charge Today: This University of Arizona website offers programs and curriculum with a decision-based approach to personal finance. More than 75 lesson plans have been developed in collaboration with researchers, financial industry experts, and current classroom educators.

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list of all free financial literacy resources, and the State Department of Education will be supplementing this list as additional resources are identified.