What Vermont requires
Vermont adopted the Jump$tart National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education in January 2018. The Agency of Education describes financial literacy as multidisciplinary and identifies social studies, mathematics, business, family and consumer science, flexible pathways, and career technical education as possible delivery settings.[1][2][3]
The state's 2023 grades 9-12 financial literacy hierarchy translates the adopted standards into one broad proficiency, three critical proficiencies, and ten priority performance indicators. The document calls these hierarchies exemplars and resources for local supervisory unions and districts, so it should not be read as a stand-alone course mandate.[4]
The Education Quality Standards effective July 1, 2025 require supervisory unions and districts to use State Board-adopted standards as the basis for curriculum, instruction, assessments, and content taught. They also require documented standards-aligned curriculum and a local comprehensive assessment system that assesses performance against State Board standards.[6]
The Agency's financial literacy page says supervisory unions and districts are expected to instruct and assess the adopted personal finance concepts while choosing delivery locally. Although that page cites the former section numbers, the 2025 rule preserves the underlying standards-alignment and local-assessment duties in sections 2111, 2120.6-2120.7, and 2123.2. The renumbering therefore does not create a material conflict.[1][6]
Vermont's current graduation rule requires proficiency in the eight broad content areas listed in section 2120.6 and allows local boards to add requirements or use credits. Financial literacy is not named as a separate graduation content area, course, or credit, so the statewide instruction-and-assessment duty is not classified as a distinct personal finance diploma condition.[6][7]
Vermont is separately developing future statewide graduation requirements for the graduating class of 2031. As of this review, that process had not produced a final personal finance course or credit requirement, so proposed statewide changes are not classified as current law.[8][9]
- Grades / placement
- K-12 adopted standards, Grades 9-12 proficiency guidance
- Responsible agency
- Vermont Agency of Education
- Assessment required
- Yes
- Evidence
- 9 primary sources
Implementation timeline
- Milestone 01
The Vermont State Board of Education adopted the Jump$tart National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education.[1]
- Milestone 02
Vermont's locally defined proficiency-based graduation requirements began with the graduating class of 2020.[7]
- Milestone 03
The Agency of Education issued its grades 9-12 Financial Literacy Proficiency-Based Graduation Hierarchy as an exemplar local resource.[4]
- Milestone 04
Updated Education Quality Standards took effect without naming financial literacy among the Section 2120.6 curriculum content areas.[6]
- Milestone 05
The future statewide graduation-requirements process identifies the class of 2031 as the first covered cohort, but final requirements were still under development at this review date.[8]
Vermont personal finance standards
The complete list below contains all 10 required personal finance topics currently identified in the controlling state materials. Each topic remains separate so educators and search engines can find the exact requirement.
National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education, Fourth Edition
Adopted by Vermont State Board of Education on 2018-01.
Open the official documentMoney Management
The Vermont grades 9-12 hierarchy groups four priority performance indicators under managing earnings, spending, credit, and saving.
- 01
Earning Income
Evaluate compensation plans, including the monetary and non-monetary value of employee benefits, as well as other means to increase compensation such as continued education, interest, dividends, and personal profits.[4]
- 02
Budgeting
Create a spending plan or budget with researched income and expense calculations, including factors that affect spending decisions and an understanding of taxes and their effect on decision-making.[4]
- 03
Credit
Examine different types of credit and how grace periods, interest-calculation methods, carrying a balance, and fees affect borrowing costs.[4]
- 04
Saving
Evaluate the costs and benefits of saving, including account and institution type, interest, tax incentives, and the effects of inflation.[4]
Future Planning
Three priority performance indicators address investments, careers and education, and retirement income.
- 01
Investments
Examine investment types, including stocks and bonds, appropriate for objectives such as liquidity, income, and growth within a personal financial plan.[4]
- 02
Career Planning
Develop a career plan and calculate future income aligned with personal interests, financial goals, and lifestyle, including lifelong education and training and the costs of student loans.[4]
- 03
Retirement
Differentiate among retirement-income sources, illustrate the time value of money, and explain the benefits of investing early.[4]
Managing Risk
Three priority performance indicators address changing financial responsibilities, insurance decisions, and protections against transaction, credit, fraud, and identity risks.
- 01
Financial Responsibility
Analyze how responsibility for financial well-being changes over a lifetime and develop plans for events affecting personal finances.[4]
- 02
Insurance
Investigate insurance types and analyze the costs and benefits of having or not having each type.[4]
- 03
Risks and Protections
Examine risks and protections for monetary transactions, including factors affecting credit reports and creditworthiness, fraud, and identity theft.[4]
Relevant law, rule, or board action
State Board Rule Series 2000 §§ 2111, 2120.6-2120.8, 2123.2
Education Quality StandardsRequires curriculum, instruction, and local assessment to use State Board-adopted standards as their basis; preserves local proficiency-based graduation policies and optional use of credits; and does not assign a separate statewide personal finance course or credit.[6]
Notes for teachers and curriculum leaders
- Use the adopted personal finance standards and Vermont's grades 9-12 hierarchy to build or review local financial literacy learning, but confirm the district's own proficiency-based graduation policy before describing student completion or credit requirements.[1][4][7]
- The state hierarchy is explicitly an exemplar. It supports interdisciplinary delivery and does not prescribe a separate course, semester length, or statewide credit value.[4]
- Assess the locally delivered financial literacy concepts through the district's comprehensive assessment system; Vermont does not prescribe a separate statewide personal finance test.[1][6]
Official sources
- 1Financial LiteracyLocator: Opening adoption and implementation paragraphs; Statewide Focus on Personal Finance EducationSupports: January 2018 adoption, multidisciplinary delivery, older instruction and assessment guidance, local delivery choice
- 2Content Areas & StandardsLocator: Vermont State Board Adopted Standards, Financial LiteracySupports: current identification of adopted standards, standards framework
- 3National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education, Fourth EditionLocator: Standards pages 6-42; grade 12 benchmarksSupports: adopted six-domain standards framework, grade 12 benchmark references
- 4Financial Literacy Proficiency-Based Graduation HierarchyLocator: PDF pages 1-3; grades 9-12 hierarchy on page 3Supports: exemplar status, interdisciplinary approach, one PBGR, three critical proficiencies, ten priority performance indicators
- 5Jump$tart National Standards for K-12 Personal Finance Education: Vermont-Adopted National Standards CrosswalkLocator: PDF pages 1-9Supports: integration opportunities, state-adopted framework, stand-alone and flexible-pathway options
- 6Series 2000: Education Quality StandardsLocator: Sections 2111, 2120.6-2120.8, and 2123.2, PDF pages 5 and 11-18Supports: adopted-standards curriculum and instruction duty, local assessment duty, current content-area list, graduation proficiency, local graduation requirements, optional use of credits
- 7Proficiency-Based Graduation RequirementsLocator: Opening definition and class-of-2020 implementation statementSupports: locally delineated PBGRs, class of 2020, state standards connection, local additions
- 8Education Transformation: Statewide Graduation RequirementsLocator: Statewide Graduation Requirements sectionSupports: future rulemaking, class of 2031, current local practice
- 9AOE Statewide Graduation Requirements RecommendationsLocator: Report overview and implementation scheduleSupports: recommendation status, State Board decision process, not yet final
Frequently asked questions
Does Vermont require financial literacy to graduate?
Vermont requires local instruction and assessment based on its adopted personal finance standards, but the current statewide graduation rule does not name a separate financial literacy course, content area, or credit. District graduation policies can add local requirements.[6][7][1]
Does Vermont require a personal finance course?
No statewide stand-alone course is established in the current sources. Vermont describes financial literacy as multidisciplinary and allows local delivery through several subjects, flexible pathways, career technical education, or a stand-alone class.[1][5][6]
What personal finance standards has Vermont adopted?
The State Board adopted the Jump$tart National Standards in K-12 Personal Finance Education. Vermont's grades 9-12 hierarchy organizes them into money management, future planning, and managing risk with ten priority performance indicators.[1][3][4]
How many personal finance credits does Vermont require?
The current statewide sources do not assign a personal finance credit amount. Vermont schools may or may not use credits for proficiency-based graduation, and local boards may set additional requirements.[6][7]
Will Vermont's future statewide graduation requirements include personal finance?
The class of 2031 is scheduled to be the first under future statewide graduation requirements, but the reviewed process had not yet established a final personal finance course or credit requirement. This record does not treat recommendations as current law.[8][9]