Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official PDF posted by the Arkansas General Assembly, fetched 2026-07-23. Page and line markers are part of the official record; nothing is edited or removed. The official bill page.
Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
1 State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H2/27/25
2 95th General Assembly
A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1283
4
5 By: Representatives J. Mayberry, S. Meeks
6 By: Senator J. English
7
8 For An Act To Be Entitled
9 AN ACT TO REQUIRE THE DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY AND
10 SECONDARY EDUCATION TO INCLUDE DIGITAL MEDIA
11 STANDARDS IN KINDERGARTEN THROUGH GRADE TWELVE
12 LIBRARY MEDIA STANDARDS; AND FOR OTHER.
13
14
15 Subtitle
16 TO REQUIRE THE DIVISION OF ELEMENTARY
17 AND SECONDARY EDUCATION TO INCLUDE
18 DIGITAL MEDIA STANDARDS IN KINDERGARTEN
19 THROUGH GRADE TWELVE LIBRARY MEDIA
20 STANDARDS.
21
22 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
23
24 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code Title 6, Chapter 16, Subchapter 1, is amended
25 to add an additional section to read as follows:
26 6-16-163. Digital media standards -- Required -- Definitions.
27 (a) The General Assembly finds that:
28 (1) There is an urgent need to address the potentially harmful
29 effects of social media on children and adults; and
30 (2) It is crucial that the General Assembly establish a means by
31 which students in the State of Arkansas can learn to be digitally literate
32 and responsible in order to protect against the potentially harmful effects
33 of social media.
34 (b) As used in this section:
35 (1)(A) "Artificial intelligence" means a machine-based system
36 that can make decisions, recommendations, or predictions based on a set of
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1 objectives.
2 (B) "Artificial intelligence" includes a machine-based
3 system that uses human and machine inputs in order to perceive environments,
4 analyze environments, and formulate opinions;
5 (2) "Digital citizenship" means the application of the standards
6 of appropriate, responsible, and healthy online behavior, including the
7 ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and act on all forms of digital
8 communication;
9 (3) "Digital wellness" means the physical and emotional health
10 impacts of media use, with attention to the development of conscious,
11 balanced usage of media that aligns with an individual's goals for his or her
12 health and well-being;
13 (4)(A) "Information literacy" means a subdomain of media
14 literacy that ensures an individual is able to recognize when information is
15 needed and locate, evaluate, and effectively utilize the needed information.
16 (B) "Information literacy" includes learning to ask
17 questions regarding whether a source is legitimate and appropriate based on
18 the information that is needed;
19 (5)(A) "Media literacy" means the ability to:
20 (i) Decode media messages, including the systems in
21 which media messages exist;
22 (ii) Assess the influence of media messages on
23 thoughts, feelings, behaviors, perceptions, beliefs, health, and society; and
24 (iii) Use and create media messages to provide
25 information, send a message, or tell a story in a way that is thoughtful,
26 conscientious, safe, and responsible.
27 (B) "Media literacy" includes digital citizenship, digital
28 wellness, information literacy, news literacy, and social media literacy;
29 (6)(A) "News literacy" means a subdomain of media literacy that
30 emphasizes knowledge of journalistic practices and the news media industry.
31 (B) "News literacy" includes the ability to determine the
32 credibility and reliability of news and other information and to recognize
33 the standards of fact-based journalism to know what to trust, share, and act
34 on; and
35 (7) "Social media literacy" means the application of digital
36 citizenship and digital wellness to address physical and mental health
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1 implications of social media use, including positive and negative mental and
2 emotional health implications of viewing certain social media content and all
3 aspects of safety and wellness related to the use of social media.
4 (c) By the 2026-2027 school year, the Division of Elementary and
5 Secondary Education shall revise the kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12)
6 library media standards to include digital media standards.
7 (d) The digital media standards required under this section shall
8 include instruction on:
9 (1) Digital citizenship, including media literacy instruction,
10 internet safety instruction, and artificial intelligence usage instruction;
11 (2) Digital wellness, including without limitation information
12 on the:
13 (A) Positive effects of social media, including
14 communicating, researching, and collaborating with others and building
15 businesses and relationships;
16 (B) Negative effects of social media on mental health,
17 including without limitation addiction to social media;
18 (C) Potential of social media to manipulate behavior; and
19 (D) Permanency of sharing materials and information
20 online;
21 (3) Internet safety, including best practices to:
22 (A) Maintain personal security; and
23 (B) Identify cyberbullying, predatory behavior,
24 cybersecurity, and human trafficking on the internet;
25 (4) Social media literacy; and
26 (5) The proper use of artificial intelligence.
27 (e) The division shall:
28 (1) Identify and curate resources for parents and legal
29 guardians, educators, and students that support the implementation of
30 kindergarten through grade twelve (K-12) digital media standards required
31 under this section; and
32 (2) Ensure digital media standards required under this section
33 are age-appropriate and progressively build on prior knowledge of digital
34 media standards.
35
36 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code � 6-25-103(a)(1), concerning the job duty of
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1 a library media specialist to serve as an information specialist, is amended
2 to read as follows:
3 (1) An information specialist whose primary job function is to:
4 (A) Provide resources available to patrons through a
5 systematically developed collection within the school and through access to
6 resources outside the school;
7 (B) Provide assistance to patrons in identifying,
8 locating, and interpreting information housed in and outside the library
9 media center;
10 (C) Provide learning opportunities related to new
11 technologies, use, and production of a variety of media formats; and
12 (D)(i) Provide instruction in the use of the library media
13 center standards, which shall include information literacy and digital media
14 literacy as required under � 6-16-163.
15 (ii) Elementary class Class sessions for a library
16 media specialist shall be limited as provided under subdivision (b)(1) of
17 this section.
18 (iii) Library media standards shall be taught in
19 collaboration with content-area and classroom teachers;
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22 /s/J. Mayberry
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4 02-27-2025 10:44:25 TNL124Every fact on this page links to its source, starting with the official bill record.