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House committee hears broad support for bill encouraging media literacy instruction
Summary
Supporters told the House Education Committee HB 508 would help students evaluate online information, reduce harm from misinformation and support mental health; proponents urged the bill as a nonbinding policy statement and staff said existing standards already address many of the bill’s aims.
Representative Kelly Kortum, sponsor of House Bill 508, told the House Education Committee the bill is a policy statement encouraging schools to teach media literacy, saying the Internet’s evolution makes it harder for students to distinguish reliable information.
The measure would direct attention and resources to media- and information-literacy skills—such as identifying safe and unsafe websites, tracing ownership and source, and evaluating bias—without prescribing instructional minutes or a specific statewide curriculum. Kortum said she provided an amendment with definitions for terms such as misinformation, disinformation, propaganda and indoctrination and described the bill as intentionally nonpolitical.
Advocates from libraries, tribal communities and nonprofit groups testified in support. Ella Smith, representing the Montana Library Association, said the bill aligns with library media and information-literacy standards for high school grades and helps prepare students for active citizenship. Alissa Snow, speaking on behalf of the Blackfeet Tribe, Fort Belknap Indian Community and Chippewa Cree, cited national data on youth screen time and urged media literacy to bolster critical thinking. Rosemary Smith, manager of the Getting Better Foundation, described media literacy as a tool to reduce polarization and improve mental health outcomes.
Several proponents linked the bill to student well-being. Carlene Ramsey, a licensed clinical professional counselor, said students are exposed at young ages to content that can worsen anxiety or normalize self-harm and that instruction on navigating online material supports positive mental health.
Kim Popham, director of public policy and research for the Montana Federation of Public Employees, said MFPE supports media-literacy goals but warned the committee against adding unfunded mandates that increase teachers’ workloads; Popham said many standards already address these skills in English language arts and library media.
McCall Flynn, executive director of the Board of Public Education, gave informational testimony that the board already adopts standards related to library media and information literacy—including grade-span groupings for 6–8 and 9–12—and said districts choose whether to implement them. Members questioned who would decide when information is "false" or "propaganda." Kortum and staff pointed to the amendment’s definitions and suggested the board or higher-education experts would shape technical standards.
Kortum closed by reiterating the bill’s goal: to encourage schools and boards to prioritize media-literacy skills without prescribing instructional time or content. The committee did not take final action during the hearing.
