A bill from a Napa state senator to encourage media literacy in students is likely headed soon to the governor’s desk for approval after the state Assembly passed it on August 27.
Senate Bill 830, which was introduced by state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, would require the state’s Department of Education to provide online access to resources and instructional materials on media literacy for use by school districts.
The bill was inspired by a 2016 Stanford University study that found that 82 percent of middle school students struggled to distinguish advertisements from news stories.
“The rise of fake and misleading news is deeply concerning. By giving students the proper tools to analyze the media they consume, we can empower them to make informed decisions,” Dodd said in a statement.
The bill was passed by the state Senate in May and will return to the Senate this week for a concurrence vote before going to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk for his signature, according to Dodd’s office.
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