Illinois Code § 27-415

§ 27-415.

Media literacy. (a) In this Section, "media literacy" means the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and communicate using a variety of objective forms, including, but not limited to, print, visual, audio, interactive, and digital texts. (b) Beginning with the 2022-2023 school year, every public high school shall include in its curriculum a unit of instruction on media literacy. The unit of instruction shall include, but is not limited to, all of the following topics: (1) Accessing information: Evaluating multiple media platforms to better understand the general landscape and economics of the platforms, as well as issues regarding the trustworthiness of the source of information. (2) Analyzing and evaluating media messages: Deconstructing media representations according to the authors, target audience, techniques, agenda setting, stereotypes, and authenticity to distinguish fact from opinion. (3) Creating media: Conveying a coherent message using multimodal practices to a specific target audience. This may include, but is not limited to, writing blogs, composing songs, designing video games, producing podcasts, making videos, or coding a mobile or software application. (4) Reflecting on media consumption: Assessing how media affects the consumption of information and how it triggers emotions and behavior. (5) Social responsibility and civics: Suggesting a plan of action in the class, school, or community to engage others in a respectful, thoughtful, and inclusive dialogue over a specific issue using facts and reason. (c) The State Board of Education shall determine how to prepare and make available instructional resources and professional learning opportunities for educators that may be used for the development of a unit of instruction under this Section. (d) This Section is repealed on July 1, 2027. (Source: P.A. 104-391, eff. 8-15-25.)