Bill Text: CA AB873 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Pupil instruction: media literacy: curriculum frameworks.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-10-13 - Chaptered by Secretary of State - Chapter 815, Statutes of 2023. [AB873 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB873-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Assembly  April 17, 2023

Amended  IN  Assembly  March 16, 2023

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 873

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Introduced by Assembly Member Berman

February 14, 2023

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An act to add Section 33548 to the Education Code, relating to pupil instruction.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 873, as amended, Berman. Pupil instruction: media literacy: curriculum frameworks.

Existing law establishes the Instructional Quality Commission and requires the commission to, among other things, recommend curriculum frameworks to the State Board of Education. Existing law also requires the state board to adopt standards, rules, and regulations for school library services.

Existing law requires the adopted course of study for grades 1 to 6, inclusive, and for grades 7 to 12, inclusive, to offer instruction or courses in specified areas of study. Existing law requires the State Department of Education to make available to school districts on its internet website a list of resources and instructional materials on media literacy, as defined, including media literacy professional development programs for teachers.

This bill would require the Instructional Quality Commission to consider incorporating the Model Library Standards into the next revision of the English Language Arts/English Language Development (ELA/ELD) curriculum framework after January 1, 2024, and to also consider incorporating media literacy standards content at each grade level. The bill would require the commission to consider incorporating media literacy curriculum content into the mathematics, science, and history-social science curriculum frameworks when those frameworks are next revised after January 1, 2024.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) California does not have an official media literacy curriculum framework to ensure the teaching of media literacy curriculum content to every pupil.

(2) The growing ubiquity of new forms of media necessitates the need for comprehensive media literacy education for all elementary and secondary pupils.

(3) The State of California has a strong interest in ensuring that its pupils are equipped to confront questions about the moral obligations and ethical standards regarding what appears on social media networks and digital platforms.

(4) The social implications of technological development are pervasive as over 90 percent of young adults use social media, and the reach and influence of digital media platforms will continue to expand.

(5) A Stanford University study showed that 82 percent of middle school pupils struggled to distinguish advertisements from news stories.

(6) The proliferation of online misinformation has posed risks to international peace, interfered with democratic decisionmaking, and threatened public health.

(7) The existing Model School Library Standards include the identification of the skills essential for pupils to be information literate, which includes media literacy curriculum content; however, these content standards are currently not included in any existing curriculum framework.

(8) Incorporating the Model Library Standards into the English language arts/English language development curriculum framework will ensure that all pupils receive more consistent instruction on these standards and that new instructional materials incorporate media literacy curriculum. content.

(9) The inclusion of media literacy curriculum content within other existing curriculum frameworks will further integrate media literacy curriculum content into instruction that all pupils receive from kindergarten through grade 12.

(10) The frameworks will provide guidance in the instruction of media literacy, thereby building critical thinking skills and developing strategies to strengthen digital citizenship for every pupil.

(b) It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to ensure that all pupils in California are prepared with media literacy skills necessary to safely, responsibly, and critically consume and use social media and other forms of media.

SEC. 2.

 Section 33548 is added to the Education Code, immediately following Section 33546, to read:

33548.

 (a) For purposes of this section, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Digital citizenship” means a diverse set of skills related to current technology and social media, including the norms of appropriate, responsible, and healthy behavior.

(2) “Media literacy” means the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, and use media and information and encompasses the foundational skills that lead to digital citizenship.

(b) When the English language arts/English language development (ELA/ELD) curriculum framework is next revised after January 1, 2024, the commission shall consider incorporating the Model Library Standards developed pursuant to Section 18101. The commission shall also consider incorporating media literacy standards content at each grade level.

(c) The commission shall consider incorporating media literacy curriculum content into the mathematics, science, and history-social science curriculum frameworks when those frameworks are next revised after January 1, 2024.