California Mandates Media Literacy Education in Schools

In a bid to combat misinformation, the state will integrate media literacy into existing curriculum frameworks starting next year.

California has passed a law requiring all K-12 students to learn media literacy skills, such as recognizing fake news and thinking critically about online content.
The law, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, will weave media literacy into existing curriculum frameworks for English language arts, science, math, and history-social studies.
The move comes amid rising public distrust in the media, especially among young people, with a 2022 Pew Research Center survey finding that adults under 30 are nearly as likely to trust information on social media as they are from national news outlets.
California's law does not include funding for teacher training, an advisory committee, or a way to monitor the law's effectiveness, but these features could be implemented later.
Other states including Texas, New Jersey, and Delaware have also passed strong media literacy laws, and more than a dozen other states are moving in that direction.