From a young age, children are saturated with media, and learning to process and evaluate this information is a vital skill. Media literacy and digital citizenship help students become wiser consumers of media and help them stay safe online.
I’ve passed several bills and secured funding in our budgets over the years to ensure Washington is a leader in protecting consumers across the state with media literacy and digital citizenship education.
- 2016: Legislature passed Senate Bill 6273 to help students navigate digital perils establishing a process for students, parents or guardians, teachers and other school employees, administrators, volunteers and community representatives to engage in an ongoing discussion concerning safe technology use and digital citizenship.
- 2017: Legislature passed Senate Bill 5449 to create a first-in-the-nation law to help students more effectively learn how to use technology.
- 2021: Passed legislation to create the Media Literacy and Digital Citizenship grant, supporting teachers in forming groups and collaborating to develop media lit curricula to share with other teachers and students.
- 2022 Budget: Secured funding for the Media Literacy and Digital Citizenship Ambassador Program to provide training and networking events for teachers and teacher-librarians.