Many people might not trust a fossil fuel backed website to provide reliable facts about climate change — but a 2019 Stanford University study found that most high school students would.
Assembly Bill 873 aims to bring media literacy — or the ability to think critically about online sources — into California public schools. The state already has optional media literacy guidelines in place, but this bill goes even further. If passed, schools would be required to teach media literacy skills in all classes starting in kindergarten, and continuing through the end of high school.
Assemblymember Marc Berman, who introduced the bill, says it could have far-reaching implications.
“I think it’s something that society would benefit from, from having youth that are smarter recipients of the information we’re all getting bombarded with every day…so, I think this is something that could be really strong for the future of our country and the future of our democracy.”
The bill passed unanimously in the Assembly and is now in committee. The new standards could be included in the next revision of the state curriculum, after 2024.
