HB116--PILOTPROGRAMFORMEDIALITERACYANDCRITICALTHINKING
SPONSOR: Murphy
COMMITTEEACTION:Voted"DoPass"bytheStandingCommitteeon
ElementaryandSecondaryEducationbyavoteof17to1,with1
membervotingpresent.
Thisbillestablishesthe"MediaLiteracyandCriticalThinking
Act".Thebilldefines"medialiteracy"toincludeconceptssuch
as,butnotlimitedto:anindividual'sabilitytoaccess,analyze,
evaluate,andparticipatewithallformsofmedia,includingnews
inprintandsocialmediacontent,andrecognizebiasand
stereotypesinmedia,aswellasInternetsafety.
ThisbillrequirestheDepartmentofElementaryandSecondary
Educationtoestablisha"MediaLiteracyandCriticalThinking"
PilotProgramforthe2026-27and2027-28schoolyears.Between
fiveandsevendiverseschoolswillbeselectedbyDESEto
participateinthePilotProgramasspecifiedinthebill.
TheProgramwilladdressmedialiteracy,developstrategiesfor
studentlearninginclassroomcurricula,anddemonstratevarious
literacystrategiesused.PilotProgramschoolsmustprovidea
reporttoDESEbeforeAugust1,2028,andbeforeJanuary1,2029,
DESEmustcompileandsubmitasummaryreporttotheGeneral
Assembly. ThePilotProgramterminatesJune30,2028.
ThissectionexpiresDecember31,2028.
ThisbillisthesameasHB1513(2024)andsimilartoHB492
(2023).
PROPONENTS: Supporterssaythatthislanguageissupportedby
classroomteachersandlibrariansacrosstheStatebecauseitis
helpingstudentsdevelopcriticalskillsnecessaryintoday'smedia
centricsociety. Teachingthevariousnuancesofmedialiteracy
andgivingstudentstoolstoensurethattheyhavehealthysocial
mediainteractionsisimportant.
TestifyinginpersonforthebillwereRepresentative Murphy;Sarah
Colbert,MissouriAssociationofSchoolLibrarians;CNMissouri,
MissouriPressAssociation;Aligned;JulieSmith;SarahColbert;
MissouriStateTeachersAssociation;MissouriNationalEducation
Association;andMissouriPressAssociation.
OPPONENTS: Thosewhoopposethebillsaythatthetoolkitthat
accompaniestheprogramisfullofwokelanguageandifimplemented wouldallowbureaucratstoindoctrinatestudentswithoutparental
information.
TestifyinginpersonagainstthebillwasAmorvine.
Writtentestimonyhasbeensubmittedforthisbill.Thefull
writtentestimonyandwitnessestestifyingonlinecanbefound
underTestimonyonthebillpageontheHousewebsite.