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 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 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 content.
(9) The inclusion of media literacy content within other existing curriculum frameworks will further integrate media literacy 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.