One of the easiest ways to get involved is to reach out to your elected officials and urge them to support media literacy education. We work closely with state advocates to help educate policymakers and raise awareness of the importance of media literacy, but our legislators work for YOU, so be sure your voice is heard.

We are always monitoring proposed media literacy-related bills around the country and sharing ways for individuals to take action in their state. While we aim to keep this page up-to-date with the latest, sometimes things change quickly. Please be sure to follow us on our social media channels and sign up for news in addition to checking this page frequently.

California Assembly Bill 2071 would expand digital wellness instruction, amending existing law to include digital wellness in health courses for students in middle and high school. Digital wellness instruction would include an introduction to the relationship between digital technology use and mental health, effects of excessive screen time and signs of unhealthy technology use, strategies for building healthy digital habits and managing technology use, online safety, evaluating digital content for credibility and recognizing misleading or manipulative information, awareness of AI including recognizing AI-generated content, positive uses of technology, and school and community resources for addressing digital wellness concerns.

California Assembly Bill 1766 would add Section 33546.5 to the Education Code, which would require the Instructional Quality Commission, when the health curriculum framework is next revised on or after January 1, 2027, to consider providing an inclusion in that framework recommendations providing annual, developmentally appropriate lessons for how to prevent human trafficking, how to stay safe from sexually exploitative materials and deepfakes online, and foundational digital citizenship skills. The bill would recommend lessons to follow a cumulative, age-appropriate progression from K-12.

Kansas Senate Bill 350, is a bill that restricts the use of digital devices (like chromebooks, laptops, smartphones) in the classroom. For grades K-5, the bill would restrict the use of any digital device in the classroom. For grades 6-8, individually issued devices are restricted and students may only use devices that are shared between other students or classrooms. There are also a number of other stipulations pertaining to the total amount of time spent using devices and the use of online or digital textbooks. For grades 9-12, individually issued devices are permitted but the bill outlines restrictions regarding total amount of time spent using devices both during the school day and at home for assignments.

This is the part of the bill we’re most interested in: For grades 6-12, schools are required to provide age-appropriate media literacy instruction to students that includes a lesson on health-related harms associated with excessive digital device use and social media platforms.

Kansas House Bill 2662 would require school districts to designate a month during the school year as a student safety and awareness month. For the designated month, the board of education will adopt or develop age-appropriate programs for middle, junior, and high school students, to be integrated into existing curriculum for health, social studies or life skills courses. The programs would include instruction on (but not limited to) internet safety, digital citizenship, and social media literacy, which would include safe and responsible use of social media platforms, prevention of cyberbullying, and recognition of misinformation.

Massachusetts Senate Bill 2865, An Act Relative to School Libraries, would have the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education adopt Association of School Librarians (AASL) and Massachusetts School Library Association (MSLA) school library standards that promote effective school library programs, including (but not limited to) the teaching of information literacy and research skills for K-12 students. 

For additional information about these bills, see Massachusetts School Library Association’s one pager.

Missouri House Bill 3077 would require each school district to develop or adopt a curriculum for grades 6-12 containing at least one unit of instruction on the responsible use of social media. Would include the social, emotional, and physical effects of social media on users, effects on mental health, the distribution of mis/disinformation on social media, how social media influences thoughts and behaviors, maintaining personal security, and identifying cyberbullying and predatory behavior. The bill would also have school districts provide resources to staff and families re: technology use like leveraging parental controls, setting boundaries with kids, and information on the impacts of prolonged screen time.