Puerto Rico Financial Literacy Standards
Puerto Rico’s Education Reform Act (Law 85-2018, as amended) directs the Department of Education to include financial-planning and money-management topics in its curriculum. Article 2.04(b)(39) covers debt management, saving, credit, homebuying, fraud prevention, and retirement planning. Read the Education Reform Act.
The same provision requires the Secretary of Education to implement and promote financial professional development for teachers through workshops, virtual seminars, and specialized courses. It calls for collaboration with experts in personal finance and pedagogy, universities, and research centers. Article 2.04(b)(39), revised July 2026.
An October 2025 report by Puerto Rico’s Legislative Assembly Budget Office (OPAL) noted that the Department had developed financial-education materials, modules, and teaching guides for elementary, middle, and high school levels. Read OPAL’s findings.
National Standards for Financial Education
Financial Literacy Standards for Older Youth & Adults (High School through Adults)
The following NFEC learner standards address financial education for older youth and adults. Financial education is a unique subject; all participants have developed financial habits and relationships with money before instruction begins.
National standards are those that have been proven in empirical and theoretical research to produce the highest improvements in participant test scores.
Financial Literacy Standards for Kids (Kids PK through 8th Grade)
In collaboration with education leader Heidi Jacobs, the NFEC created these financial literacy standards to define learning goals and educational targets for optimal child financial education. Guided by strong pedagogical theory, the standards ensure that instructional targets are age- and developmentally-appropriate and that lessons can be effectively scaffolded. Standards represent five sections based on topic areas in the NFEC curriculum.
Standards for Financial Education Instructors
The NFEC teamed with the well-known Danielson Group to develop the first and only national standards for financial educators – The Framework for Teaching Personal Finance – to define optimal educator skill sets and performance levels. The framework also identifies the financial educator responsibilities empirically proven to produce highest gains in participant test scores. The framework outlines professional responsibilities and instructional practices for financial educators.
