Advancing Policy to Foster K-12 Media Literacy

Students are spending more time on their digital devices than ever before, with near ubiquitous access to digital media. At the same time, the primary hubs for K-12 information literacy—school libraries—are under fire. If all students are to be able to critically evaluate the vast information at their fingertips and navigate online spaces safely and responsibly, more state education leaders will need to step up to foster and safeguard media literacy instruction.

Contemporary efforts to censor curriculum and books, coupled with legislative calls to ban words like “critical” and “action,” have made for a highly charged, rapidly evolving educational landscape. On the one hand, several state legislatures have passed legislation that has led to the banning of books, the firing of library media specialists, and the defunding of libraries and schools.[1] On the other hand, generative artificial intelligence (AI), which aids the creation of deepfakes, and large language models like ChatGPT, make it more difficult for children to navigate online spaces and to know true from false and real from fake.[2]

School administrators, teachers, and library media specialists inevitably feel the pressure. Yet they nonetheless must help students think critically about the media they consume and learn to approach information in cautious, analytical, responsible ways. By committing to high-quality K-12 information and media literacy instruction and the infrastructure to implement it, state leaders can support the work of their educators.

Core Components of Media Literacy

K-12 information and media literacy education should cover three main areas: safety and civility, information analysis, and civic voice and engagement.[3]

Safety and civility. Students must learn to manage their online presence, identify and avoid risky online behaviors, and interact with others safely and respectfully. Generative AI makes this focus even more critical. Students need to recognize the permanence of their online actions—a “digital footprint” that can follow them into adulthood. They must learn to navigate and manage potential scams and traps, the systematic collection of their personal data, and the aggressive, polarizing discourse they may encounter.

Information analysis. With the uptick in online disinformation, bias, and propaganda, it is increasingly critical that students learn to identify and assess the sources and purposes of online information. They should learn the digital-age factors that contribute to the spread of misleading and inaccurate content—and thus how current events and news circulate online. These skills help students make sense of themselves, their communities, and historical and contemporary issues.

Civic voice and engagement. Well before they are of voting age, students should develop the ability to express their informed opinions on social issues and engage in civic and political life. Students have always needed support to be able to clearly articulate views on matters of interest to them and to participate genuinely in the life of their schools, communities, and the world. As has always been the case, civic education is critical for students’ development as citizens. However, given that civic engagement has largely shifted to online media, students need a particular set of skills that the preceding generation did not receive in their K-12 schooling.

State Policy Landscape

Recognizing the ubiquity of online engagement and the need to equip students better to manage it, state media literacy policy is also witnessing a rapid shift. In 2013, only a handful of states considered bills to advance K-12 media literacy. By March 2024, the number of proposed bills had risen significantly, with nearly a dozen more bills pending in 17 states compared with 2013.

In spring 2021, a team of researchers associated with the Civic Engagement Research Group analyzed state policy around media and information literacy.[4] Leveraging national-level legislative search engines and conversations with national experts, the analysis revealed only 14 states had passed 22 laws mentioning information and/or media literacy. Furthermore, the laws varied significantly in substance, scope, and aims. Definitions varied, as did their visions for support for information and media literacy. Only five states—Washington, Utah, Colorado, California, and New Mexico—defined terms at all.[5]

Without shared definitions, implementation may remain unfocused and left to individual schools and educators to interpret what the law intended. While some state laws required the development of information and/or media literacy standards, others prioritized staffing, the creation of standing committees, or building relationships with community organizations. Although it is natural for there to be differences among states, a clear vision of how to approach instruction would likely stimulate the incorporation of a more coherent set of knowledge, skills, and dispositions.

Additionally, the study found that attention to equity was not a priority in media literacy policies. Of note, only one-fifth of the bills explicitly identified equity as a goal or aim. Because a digital divide and a civic participation gap shaped by racial and socioeconomic differences persists nationally, this omission is important.[6]

References to equity were not only infrequent but also typically ambiguous, lacking detailed plans for achieving equity goals. Of the 22 bills that were passed by 2021, only five from four states—Washington (two bills), California, Massachusetts, and New Jersey—addressed equity to some extent.[7] For instance, a Massachusetts bill (MA S2631) highlights the challenge of providing media literacy access to all students, particularly those who are economically disadvantaged or underrepresented. But bills that used such terms as “underserved” or “underrepresented” to describe target communities often failed to detail how these groups would be served effectively. Some bills considered aspects of race, ethnicity, and gender in their definitions of equity. For example, a New Jersey bill (NJ A3628) pledged to achieve diversity and balanced representation across gender, race, ethnicity, and geography. Some states, including New Jersey, specified the diversity of stakeholders involved in their programs, ensuring that appointed officials in their state consortiums reflect the state’s racial, ethnic, gender, and geographic diversity.

While the commitment to increase access to information and media literacy education in schools was evident throughout these bills we studied, there was little mention of the resources, funding, and training necessary to support high-quality instruction and sustained implementation. Only a handful of bills in our analysis allocated financial resources to address staffing and coaching positions essential for implementing the proposed initiatives. Only five bills across four states include funding provisions.

Although building teacher capacity is a critical piece of any educational reform, very few bills called for professional development and teacher training. Only five states called for professional development training for teachers, librarians, or other media literacy stakeholders. Only two states’ bills mentioned staffing.[8]

Lastly, the study found that the most predominant legislative emphasis was on students learning how to be safe and behave responsibly online. The bills’ focus included helping students understand and navigate their online presence, identifying and steering clear of hazardous activities, and interacting with others safely and responsibly. Safety and civility were mentioned 29 times in 15 bills. In essence, the majority of the bills centered on crafting policies to help students engage digital media in smart, ethical, responsible ways.[9] In the 14 states that passed legislation, approximately 70 percent sought to enhance students’ reasoning and discourse abilities. While both dimensions are important, they are insufficient for navigating the current media environment.

Media and information literacy legislation continued to proliferate since we completed our study. In 2023, there were 29 bills in 17 states. In March 2024, a dozen more bills were in progress or pending. In Media Literacy Now’s most recent annual report, they acknowledge the significant strides states made in the preceding year.[10] Notably, California enacted a comprehensive media literacy law.[11] California has become the fourth state to mandate media literacy education for all students, spanning from kindergarten through grade 12. It joins the ranks of New Jersey, Delaware, and Texas. Its bill marks a significant milestone, as it entails a major allocation of resources and an emphasis on curriculum and professional training in the state with the largest K-12 population. Additionally, the scope of this media literacy legislation is not limited to a stand-alone media literacy lesson. California will teach media literacy concepts in four core subject areas: math, science, history, and English language arts. The legislation kicks off a standards update process through the state board of education.[12] Media Literacy Now projected that California’s bill would catalyze similar legislation elsewhere.

Although safety and civility is still the predominant theme, new legislation has begun to focus on contemporary technology and issues students face in the changing online landscape. Unlike previous years’ legislation, recent bills address artificial intelligence, podcasting, mental health, and human trafficking. For example, a new Florida law requires media literacy instruction for grades 6-12.[13] Instruction must cover “[t]he negative impact of social media on mental health, including addiction; the spread of misinformation on social media; how social media influences behavior; the permanence of online sharing; and how to maintain personal security and recognize cyberbullying, predatory behavior, and human trafficking on the Internet.”[14]

What State Leaders Should Consider

According to a recent Pew Research Center survey of U.S. teens, some describe their social media use as “almost constant.”[15] Given children’s near-ubiquitous access to screens and their heavy use of social media, state leaders should support calls for robust information and media literacy instruction that responds to the changing online landscape.

Although state policies have evolved significantly, high-quality media literacy instruction remains the exception rather than the norm.[16] We call on all state leaders to consider how they can ensure that their K-12 students receive ongoing, routine instruction. Of course, it is not incumbent only upon state leaders. Shifts in preservice teacher education and in-service professional learning are needed to make such instruction integral and widespread. As part of the Civic Engagement Research Group, we do precisely that in our respective universities and their preservice/in-service teacher education programs. State leaders and educator preparation programs should work toward these shifts together.

As one necessary step, we concur with NASBE’s Celina Pierrottet’s recent call on state boards to advance media literacy and digital citizenship by asking these questions:

• What benefits are associated with students’ media literacy?
• How does media literacy prepare students to be civically engaged?
• How is my state encouraging K-12 instruction in media literacy?
• How are our teachers equipped to provide instruction?
• Are there best-practice standards for my state to review?
• How can we engage families and students in creating policies on media literacy?[17]

Asking these simple yet straightforward, powerful questions will directly inform state boards’ awareness of existing realities, strengths, and areas for growth in their own state contexts.

State leaders should ask whether media literacy instruction in their states is limited to helping students interact online safely and responsibly. While these skills are necessary, they are insufficient.[18] State leaders should ensure that such instruction also encompasses developing critical thinking and reasoning and inspiring students’ agency and ability to engage in civic life.

This instruction should also address the multitude of contemporary issues students face. As policymakers address mental health, cyberbullying, artificial intelligence, and human trafficking, they should also tackle the related real-life situations in which children find themselves in online. Given that the information practices and landscape of each school and its community vary, it is equally important to learn from and partner with local experts on these media practices—that is, students and teachers, including school library media specialists.

School library media specialists often lead the charge for media and information literacy in schools, and where there is instruction, libraries are the primary hubs for it.[19] As they craft policies and build infrastructure for media literacy instruction, state leaders should leverage librarians’ expertise. It should not be solely their responsibility to lead these efforts. Because information and media skills are required in all disciplines, teachers across content areas should be developing a generation of students who can think critically about the massive amounts of media they consume.

State Senator Marko Liias has modeled an approach in Washington state that values the roles of librarians and teachers. A 2018 survey conducted in Washington found that media literacy instruction was not incorporated in any grade level nor subject area outside the instruction provided by school librarians.[20] In response, Liias set up the Digital Citizenship Advisory Committee to empower educators and stakeholders to lead the charge on digital citizenship and media literacy.[21] He positioned school librarians to support teachers in integrating information and media literacy into their classrooms.

The imperative for comprehensive information and media literacy instruction is clear. Teens’ pervasive use of social media and their constant connectivity underscore the urgent need for robust education that goes beyond basic safety. By integrating instruction across diverse subject areas and leveraging the expertise of school librarians, state leaders can cultivate a generation of students able to navigate the complexities of the digital world safely and responsibly, become informed citizens, and engage in civic life.

Notes

[1] Elizabeth Blair, “Report: Last Year Ended with a Surge in Book Bans,” NPR, April 16, 2024.

[2] Safinah Ali et al., “Children as Creators, Thinkers, and Citizens in an AI-Driven Future,” Computers and Education: Artificial Intelligence 2 (2021), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.caeai.2021.100040.

[3] Angela G. Garcia et al., “Rethinking Digital Citizenship: Learning about Media, Literacy, and Race in Turbulent Times,” in Carol D. Lee, Gregory White, and Danny Dong, eds., Educating for Civic Reasoning and Discourse (Washington, DC: National Academy of Education, 2021).

[4] Daniela Kruel DiGiacomo et al., “Assessing the State of Media Literacy Policy in U.S. K-12 Schools,” Journal of Children and Media 17, no. 3 (2023): 336–52, https://doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2023.2201890.

[5] Ibid. It is possible that state boards of education adopted administrative rules to implement these laws that did include definitions, but that analysis was outside the scope of the 2021 analysis.

[6] Jan Van Dijk, The Digital Divide (John Wiley & Sons, 2020); Henry Jenkins, Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century (MIT Press, 2009); Paul Mihailidis and Benjamin Thevenin, “Media Literacy as a Core Competency for Engaged Citizenship in Participatory Democracy,” American Behavioral Scientist 57, no. 11 (2013): 1611–22.

[7] DiGiacomo et al., “Assessing the State of Media Literacy Policy.”

[8] Ibid.

[9] Ibid.

[10] Media Literacy Now, “Media Literacy Policy Report 2023” (Watertown, MA: Media Literacy Now, 2023).

[11] California Legislature, Assembly Bill No. 873, Chapter 815, Statutes of 2023.

[12] Sequoia Carrillo, “California Joins a Growing Movement to Teach Media Literacy in Schools,” NPR, November 24, 2023.

[13] Florida House of Representatives, Technology in K-12 Public Schools, House Bill 379, 2023 Regular Session, enacted May 10, 2023.

[14] Media Literacy Now, “Policy Report 2023.”

[15] Monica Anderson, Michelle Faverio, and Jeffrey Gottfried, “Teens, Social Media, and Technology 2023,” report (Pew Research Center, December 11, 2023).

[16] DiGiacomo et al., “Assessing the State of Media Literacy Policy.”

[17] Celina Pierrottet, “Six Questions to Advance Media Literacy and Digital Citizenship,” Power of the Question 7, no. 1 (April 2024).

[18] DiGiacomo et al., “Assessing the State of Media Literacy Policy.”

[19] Donna Mignardi, “Graduating Information and Media Literate Students,” Knowledge Quest 50, no. 2 (2021): 8–14; American Association of School Librarians, National School Library Standards for Learners, School Librarians, and School Libraries (Chicago: ALA, 2018); Tracy A. McNelly and Jessica Harvey, “Media Literacy Instruction in Today’s Classrooms: A Study of Teachers’ Knowledge, Confidence, and Integration,” Journal of Media Literacy Education 13, no. 1 (2021): 108–30.

[20] Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, “Summary of Key Findings from May 2018 Survey of Digital Citizenship, Media Literacy, and Internet Safety Education in Washington K-12 Schools,” 2018.

[21] Senate Democrats of Washington State, “Media Literacy and Digital Citizenship,” web page.