Tag: WA Legislature

Media Literacy, News

Senator Marko Liias Honored for Work in Media Literacy

Sue D. Cook
Senator Liias, center, with AME board members Jenny Gawronski, Michael Danielson, Marilyn Cohen, and Barbara Johnson

Washington State Senator Marko Liias was invited to speak in Jenny Gawronski’s Digital Media Literacy class at the University of Washington on May 28. The class session focused on ground-breaking pieces of media literacy legislation that have passed in Washington since 2016.

Senator Liias played a key role in the passage of this legislation, which has established Washington as a model for the nation. Action for Media Education (AME) board members were there to present Senator Liias with a Certificate of Appreciation for his leadership role in passing this legislation. 

Media literacy advocates are currently celebrating Washington’s third piece of legislation which will, for the first time, allocate state funds for the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction to establish a K-12 media literacy grant program in 2019–2020. For more information, contact Dennis Small: dennis.small@k12.wa.us or (360) 725-6384.

Thank you Senator Liias, for your work in media literacy!

Bill Update, News, Take Action

Your Comments Needed: 
New Media Literacy Bill for WA Schools

Sue D. Cook

Exciting news! WA State Senate Bill 5594 provides funding for media literacy curriculum and professional development for teachers.

YOUR COMMENTS ARE NEEDED NOW. Please share this link with as many people as possible across the state. It’s easy! Just type in your zip code and with a few words you can let our lawmakers know your position.

This bill, sponsored and introduced by Senator Marko Liias, creates a grant process for developing new curriculum units that embed media literacy into content area lessons. The new curriculum units will be available for classrooms across the state. The bill also provides for two Media Literacy and Digital Citizenship professional development conferences for educators. 

The proposed bill is a follow up to ESSB 5449 from 2017, which supported media literacy and digital citizenship. That bill called for reviewing and revising of district policies and procedures to better support digital citizenship, media literacy and internet safety, and the creation of a repository of best practices and resources. It also mandated an Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) survey that examined how digital citizenship and media literacy were being integrated into Washington’s schools’ curriculum.

Action for Media Literacy (AME) board members Marilyn Cohen, Michael Danielson, and Barbara Johnson met with Senator Liias to propose this new bill, SB 5594. He responded immediately with interest and took action. Thank you to Senator Marko Liias and the bill’s co-sponsors: Senators Judy Warnick, Claire Wilson, Lisa Wellman, Patty Kuderer, Joe Nguyen, Rebecca Saldaña, and Hans Zeiger.

Spread the word, and comment today to support media literacy education!