Last month, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 873, which requires that all California public schools integrate media literacy concepts and skills into existing coursework in English/language arts, science, math and social studies. Schools will be required to teach children how to determine if information they find on line is fact, fiction or supposition. 

AB 873 goes into effect on Jan. 1, 2024, so educators at all levels better learn to “ride this bronco” and fast. Acquiring online and media literacy is complicated. Unquestionably the full implementation of AB 873 will require years of teacher and administrator training and updated curricula.