Hawaii integrates financial literacy into existing courses rather than requiring a standalone class. The state has 38 financial literacy standards across 15 topic areas that are embedded within subjects like economics and social studies.

Last updated: March 2026

38 Standards
15 Topic Areas
integrated Mandate Status
9-12 Grade Levels

Does Hawaii Require Financial Literacy Education?

Yes, through integration. Hawaii requires financial literacy concepts to be taught within existing courses rather than as a standalone class. Hawaii requires financial literacy and consumer economics education integrated into social studies and economics courses at the secondary level. There is no separate standalone financial literacy course mandate statewide.

Mandate Details

Status
integrated
Standalone Course
No
Grade Levels
9-12
Legislation
HB 1307 (Act 2024, Regular Session) (2024 (2024-2025 school year))
HIDOE Administrative Policy (Board of Education, 2025-2026) (2026-2027 school year (Class of 2030))
HB 865 (2025 Session, pending) (Pending (proposed 2026-2027))

Key Agencies

Hawaii Department of Education - Procurement Office
Manages state-level purchasing, RFPs, and contract administration for educational materials and services
State of Hawaii Procurement Office
Oversees state procurement law and eProcurement system compliance
What this means for districts: Teachers need resources that address financial literacy objectives within their existing courses. A standards-aligned supplement can help ensure coverage without requiring schedule changes.

What Are Hawaii's Financial Literacy Standards?

Hawaii has 38 financial literacy standards organized across 16 topic areas. These topics range from Investing and Saving to Macroeconomics/Market Context, covering the full spectrum of personal finance education.

6 standards
Investing
6 covered
5 standards
Saving
5 covered
5 standards
Credit & Debt
5 covered
3 standards
Postsecondary Financing
3 covered
3 standards
Consumer Protection & Fraud
3 covered
3 standards
Insurance & Risk Management
3 covered
2 standards
Budgeting & Cash Flow
2 covered
2 standards
Auto & Transportation Finance
1 covered 1 gap
2 standards
Employment & Benefits
1 covered 1 gap
1 standard
Earning Income
1 covered
1 standard
Retirement Planning
1 covered
1 standard
Housing & Mortgages
1 covered
1 standard
Identity Theft & Cyber Safety
1 covered
1 standard
Net Worth & Wealth Building
1 covered
1 standard
Banking & Payments
1 covered
1 standard
Macroeconomics/Market Context
0 covered 1 gap

How Hawaii School Districts Adopt Financial Literacy Curriculum

Hawaii is an open territory state, meaning individual districts have the authority to select and purchase curriculum directly without state-level approval. Hawaii does not maintain a state adoption list. Districts have autonomy to select their own instructional materials, though the state provides guidance and resources.

Purchasing Process

Individual school districts conduct their own procurement processes, often through RFPs or direct purchasing. The state Department of Education does not mandate vendors or materials.

Decision Level

Each of Hawaii's districts (primarily the statewide Hawaii Department of Education) makes purchasing decisions independently. Schools may collaborate informally but are not bound by state adoption lists.

Cooperative Purchasing Options

Hawaii Cooperative Purchasing Consortium

Curriculum That Meets Hawaii's Financial Literacy Standards

Districts looking for a standards-aligned financial literacy curriculum can use iKnowFi Academy — a self-paced, online platform built on the Absorb LMS that maps directly to Hawaii's learning objectives. iKnowFi Academy covers 35 of 38 standards (92.1% coverage) across 10 courses.

Hawaii Standards Coverage

92.1%
35 of 38 standards covered 10 courses

Aligned Courses

Borrowing Money

2 modules · 2 standards aligned

Establishing Credit

2 modules · 2 standards aligned

Financial Building Blocks

2 modules · 4 standards aligned

Financial Preparation and Recovery

3 modules · 5 standards aligned

Making Housing Decisions

1 module · 1 standard aligned

Managing Your Debt

1 module · 1 standard aligned

Managing Your Money

2 modules · 3 standards aligned

The Importance of Saving

3 modules · 6 standards aligned

Using Credit Cards

1 module · 1 standard aligned

Your Financial Future

4 modules · 10 standards aligned

Hawaii's Financial Literacy Standards & iKnowFi Academy Alignment

All 38 standards — 35 covered by iKnowFi Academy.

Investing 6/6 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
Theme 4: Investing Explain why some people might prefer to buy investments that grow in value over time instead of investments that pay regular income. 9-12 Your Financial Future
Theme 4: Investing Define common types of financial assets. 9-12 Your Financial Future
Theme 4: Investing Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of investing in a diversified stock or bond mutual fund versus individual stocks and bonds. 9-12 Your Financial Future
Theme 4: Investing Compare rates of return on different types of investments and order them by risk. 9-12 Your Financial Future
Theme 4: Investing Discuss how a person’s risk tolerance influences their investment decisions. 9-12 Your Financial Future
SS.12E.4.1 Analyze the types of personal economic decisions and choices that individuals make, including considering investment options. 9-12 Your Financial Future
Saving 5/5 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
Theme 3: Saving Create a savings plan that will allow someone to make a large purchase in one year, 5 years, and 10 years. 9-12 The Importance of Saving
Theme 3: Saving Discuss how savings decisions can affect financial well-being. 9-12 The Importance of Saving
Theme 3: Saving Explain the benefit of compound interest as compared with simple interest. 9-12 The Importance of Saving
Theme 3: Saving Compare the features of regular savings accounts, money market accounts, and CDs. 9-12 The Importance of Saving
Theme 3: Saving Explain how traditional IRAs (individual retirement accounts), Roth IRAs, and education savings accounts provide incentives for people to save. 9-12 The Importance of Saving
Credit & Debt 5/5 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
Theme 5: Managing Credit Compare lenders based on type of credit offered, interest rates, and fees. 9-12 Borrowing Money
Theme 5: Managing Credit Predict the possible consequences of having a lot of debt payments relative to income. 9-12 Managing Your Debt
Theme 5: Managing Credit Explain how a borrower’s credit score can impact their cost of credit and their ability to get credit. 9-12 Establishing Credit
Theme 5: Managing Credit Explain how landlords, potential employers, and insurance companies use credit reports and credit scores in decision-making. 9-12 Establishing Credit
SS.12E.4.1 Analyze the types of personal economic decisions and choices that individuals make, including utilizing loans and credit cards. 9-12 Using Credit Cards
Postsecondary Financing 3/3 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
Theme 1: Earning Income Evaluate the costs and benefits of investing in additional education or training. 9-12 Your Financial Future
Theme 5: Managing Credit Describe the different sources of funding for post-secondary education. 9-12 Your Financial Future
SS.12E.4.2 Identify how economic reasoning is used to make personal decisions such as deciding on a college. 9-12 Your Financial Future
Consumer Protection & Fraud 3/3 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
Theme 2: Spending Share examples of how price, spending choices of others, peer pressure, or advertising influence a purchase decision. 9-12 Managing Your Money
Theme 2: Spending Explain the types of information most helpful in making a purchase decision. 9-12 Managing Your Money
Theme 2: Spending Investigate common types of consumer fraud and unfair or deceptive business practices, including online scams, phone solicitations, and redlining. 9-12 Financial Preparation and Recovery
Insurance & Risk Management 3/3 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
Theme 6: Managing Risk Describe how an unexpected event that damages health or property can impact a family’s financial situation. 9-12 Financial Preparation and Recovery
Theme 6: Managing Risk Compare the cost of health insurance to the potential financial consequences of not having health insurance. 9-12 Financial Preparation and Recovery
Theme 6: Managing Risk Discuss how state unemployment programs can help reduce economic hardship caused by job losses during a recession or pandemic. 9-12 Financial Preparation and Recovery
Budgeting & Cash Flow 2/2 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
Theme 2: Spending Create a budget that includes expenses and savings out of a given amount of income. 9-12 Financial Building Blocks
SS.12E.4.1 Analyze the types of personal economic decisions and choices that individuals make, including determining how to budget money. 9-12 Financial Building Blocks
Auto & Transportation Finance 1/2 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
SS.12E.4.2 Identify how economic reasoning is used to make personal decisions such as purchasing a car. 9-12 Borrowing Money
Theme 6: Managing Risk Research the minimum auto liability insurance required in the state they live in and whether it is sufficient to cover typical auto accident financial losses. 9-12 —
Employment & Benefits 1/2 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
SS.12E.4.2 Identify how economic reasoning is used to make personal decisions such as career choices. 9-12 Financial Building Blocks
Theme 1: Earning Income Explain why people should evaluate employee benefits in addition to wages and salaries when choosing between job and career opportunities. 9-12 —
Earning Income 1/1 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
Theme 1: Earning Income Identify common types of payroll deductions. 9-12 Financial Building Blocks
Retirement Planning 1/1 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
Theme 1: Earning Income Describe the importance of having multiple sources of income in retirement, such as Social Security, employer-sponsored retirement plans, and personal investments. 9-12 Your Financial Future
Housing & Mortgages 1/1 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
Theme 2: Spending Compare the short-term and long-term costs and benefits of renting versus buying a home in their city of residence. 9-12 Making Housing Decisions
Identity Theft & Cyber Safety 1/1 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
Theme 6: Managing Risk Provide examples of how online behavior, e-mail and text-message scams, telemarketers, and other methods make consumers vulnerable to privacy infringement, identity theft, and fraud. 9-12 Financial Preparation and Recovery
Net Worth & Wealth Building 1/1 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
SS.12E.4.1 Analyze the types of personal economic decisions and choices that individuals make, including establishing short- and long-term financial goals and plans related to income, saving, and spending. 9-12 The Importance of Saving
Banking & Payments 1/1 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
SS.12E.5.1 Explain the significance of economic institutions (e.g., the banking system and its interaction with business firms and consumers
(+2 more)
  • the function of financial and securities markets
  • the impact of labor unions on the American economy) in a market-based economy, including how and why individuals utilize various financial institutions.
 9-12 Managing Your Money
Macroeconomics/Market Context 0/1 covered
ID Standard Grade iKnowFi Academy Course
Theme 1: Earning Income Discuss how economic and labor market conditions can affect income, career opportunities, and employment status. 9-12 —

Hawaii Financial Literacy FAQ

Hawaii integrates financial literacy into existing courses rather than requiring a standalone class.

Hawaii requires financial literacy and consumer economics education integrated into social studies and economics courses at the secondary level. There is no separate standalone financial literacy course mandate statewide.

Hawaii's financial literacy requirements are established by HB 1307 (Act 2024, Regular Session), HIDOE Administrative Policy (Board of Education, 2025-2026) and HB 865 (2025 Session, pending).

Requires the Department of Education to include financial literacy instruction in the existing Personal Transition Plan (PTP) requirement for each student, commencing with the 2024-2025 school year. Starting with the Class of 2030 (entering 9th grade in 2026-2027), all students must complete a financial literacy educational opportunity and document it through their Personal Transition Plan as a graduation requirement; schools may use standalone courses, integration into existing courses, or self-paced learning. Would require financial literacy instruction K-12 and a one-half credit course in financial literacy with a passing grade required for graduation in grades 9-12, beginning with the 2026-2027 school year.

Hawaii's financial literacy standards apply to grades 9-12. Standards are integrated into existing coursework.

Hawaii has 38 financial literacy standards spanning 15 topic areas including Investing, Saving, Credit & Debt, Postsecondary Financing, Consumer Protection & Fraud.

Hawaii's 38 standards are organized across 15 topics: Investing, Saving, Credit & Debt, Postsecondary Financing, Consumer Protection & Fraud, Insurance & Risk Management, Budgeting & Cash Flow, Earning Income, Retirement Planning, Housing & Mortgages, Identity Theft & Cyber Safety, Net Worth & Wealth Building, Auto & Transportation Finance, Employment & Benefits, Banking & Payments.

Hawaii is an open-territory state where individual districts purchase curriculum directly.

Individual school districts conduct their own procurement processes, often through RFPs or direct purchasing. The state Department of Education does not mandate vendors or materials.

iKnowFi Academy covers 35 of Hawaii's 38 financial literacy standards (92% coverage) across 10 self-paced online courses.

Each course is aligned to Hawaii's specific learning objectives, built on the Absorb LMS, and includes built-in assessments. Teachers assign them and students work independently.

Get Your Free Hawaii Standards Alignment Report

See exactly how iKnowFi Academy maps to each of Hawaii's 38 financial literacy standards — standard by standard, module by module.

  • 35 of 38 standards covered
  • 10 self-paced courses, ready to assign
  • Built-in assessments and progress tracking
  • No schedule changes needed — students work independently

Ready to see the full alignment?

Free for Hawaii school districts

Request Alignment Report Schedule a Demo
Last updated: March 2026