New Jersey Becomes 1st State to Require Media Literacy Lessons for Elementary & Secondary Students

The United States is in need of some digital literacy education with 31% of citizens saying it's difficult to determine what is true online.

In this world of misinformation & disinformation, New Jersey is taking a step to be pro-active in the fight for facts and will soon require students of all ages to be taught research skills, critical thinking, and other methodology for spotting misinformation online.

This change follows the signing of a bill by Governor Phil Murphy on Wednesday that requires the state's Department of Education to create guidelines on media literacy for students in kindergarten through 12th grade. The bipartisan bill also require the state's education commissioner to empanel a committee including educators, as well as library media specialists, to draft the learning standards that will be used to ensure students know how to differentiate between fact and opinion, use library resources to find scholarly articles, and understand economic, social, and legal factors related to the use of information, specifically online.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signs into law a bill requiring media literacy education for all students [Photo Credit: Edwin J. Torres/NJ Governor's Office]

In a statement, Governor Murphy said:

"Our democracy remains under sustained attack through the proliferation of disinformation that is eroding the role of truth in our political and civic discourse. It is our responsibility to ensure our nation’s future leaders are equipped with the tools necessary to identify fact from fiction.”

While this is definitely a step in the right direction, there was no mention of when these new media literacy standards will be implemented in schools. in 2020, First Lady Tammy Murphy made a similar announcement regarding educational standards for lessons on climate change in science, technology and social studies classes that took more than two years to deploy effectively, although the program did suffer delays relating to the pandemic.

Delay or no delay, the bill's prime sponsor, Sen. Michael Testa (R-Cumberland), remains excited about the changes on the horizon, saying in a statement, "Teaching children about information literacy will help them to weigh the flood of news, opinion, and social media they are exposed to both online and off. This law isn’t about teaching kids that any specific idea is true or false, rather, it’s about helping them learn how to research, evaluate, and understand the information they are presented for themselves.”