Last week, the Massachusetts K-12 Graduation Council released its final recommendations for what a high school diploma should mean. Media Literacy Now applauds the Council for making Artificial Intelligence and Digital Literacy a required milestone for every graduate.

That decision came from the public. The Council didn’t name AI and digital literacy in its interim report; it elevated the milestone for the final report because residents kept asking for it. In listening sessions and the statewide survey, Massachusetts residents called for media literacy by name, for students who can evaluate information and identify misinformation, and for graduates who can tell fact from opinion and recognize an author’s bias. The Council listened.

Now comes the part that matters most. The recommendation calls for AI and digital literacy standards that, in the Council’s own words, still need to be developed. What goes into those standards will decide whether this milestone produces real competency or a box to check. The Council’s own draft content already points in the right direction: identifying credible sources, understanding the role of algorithms, thinking critically about what AI produces. Those are media literacy skills. We urge the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department to make media literacy central to these standards from the start.

This milestone is about judgment, not procurement. Students complete a learning module to understand how AI and digital technologies work and what they mean for the future, and districts can deliver it through a state module or their own coursework. Nothing here requires putting generative AI tools in students’ hands, and the debate that follows shouldn’t get pulled into a fight over which vendor to buy.

Massachusetts is not starting from scratch. Teachers across the Commonwealth already build media literacy into English, history, science, health, and civics, and the state has standards and educators to draw on. The foundation is here. What’s needed now is the commitment to build on it, with clear expectations and real support for teachers.

“Massachusetts residents asked for this, and they were specific: they want graduates who can spot misinformation and think critically about what they read,” said Kyra Brissette, CEO of Media Literacy Now. “As the state writes these new standards, media literacy belongs at the center of them. We’re ready to help get it right.”

Media literacy is literacy.

Our report, Media Literacy in Massachusetts: A Landscape Scan and Policy Recommendations, looks at media literacy education in Massachusetts, offers insight from experts and educators, and provides recommendations for improving media literacy through state education policy.