Senate panel endorses ‘media literacy’ mandate in schools
By PETER HANCOCK
Capitol News Illinois
phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com
SPRINGFIELD – All high schools in Illinois would be required to offer instruction in how to understand and evaluate news and social media as part of their computer literacy courses under a bill that advanced out of a Senate committee Tuesday.
Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, argued in the Senate Education Committee that the bill is needed because vast changes in the media landscape that have occurred in recent years.
“In the digital age, the internet has become the primary public square,” she said. “Young people consume, create and share news throughout digital media. They debate and discuss social issues, politics and civic issues in online spaces. They’re also vulnerable to persecution and misinformation.”
During the lame duck session in January, lawmakers passed an education reform bill backed by the Illinois Legislative Black Caucus that was aimed at improving racial and ethnic equity in education. That bill, which Gov. JB Pritzker signed into law in March, included a requirement that all schools provide “developmentally appropriate” computer literacy instruction.
Villa said that House Bill 234 would add to that requirement by including “media literacy” within the definition of computer literacy, beginning in the 2022-2023 school year.
According to the bill, that would include instruction on accessing information across various platforms; analyzing and evaluating media messages; creating their own media messages; and social responsibility and civics.
But Sen. Terri Bryant, R-Murphysboro, questioned how objective schools could be in teaching students how to evaluate news stories by separating factual news from “fake news.”
“What’s fake news and what is not fake news,” she asked.
Villa replied that teachers are trained in how to instruct students in media usage and that the difference between fake news and real news is the same as the difference between fiction and nonfiction.
“So the teachers themselves would be deciding what’s fake news, by their own opinion,” Bryant asked.
She asked hypothetically what would happen if a district decided that CNN anchor Anderson Cooper was a liar. “They could basically say that anything Anderson Cooper says is fake news,” Bryant said.
Villa, however, said the instruction would just be designed to teach students how to verify information in a news story in order to evaluate for themselves what is accurate and what is not.
The bill passed out of the committee by a vote of 7-2 and now heads to the floor of the Senate. It previously passed the House, 68-44, on March 20.
Seclusion and restraint
The committee also advanced a bill that would require the Illinois State Board of Education to adopt rules to greatly curtail the use of time outs, isolated time outs and physical restraint in all public schools and nonpublic special education facilities.
That is an issue that lawmakers tried to tackle during the lame duck session in January when a bill passed unanimously out of the Senate but stalled in the House.
The State Board of Education adopted rules in 2020 that were intended to phase out the use of seclusion and prone, or face-down, restraints by July of this year. House Bill 219, which passed out of the House, 113-0, on March 22, would actually give the state board another two full years, until the 2023-2024 school year, to phase out those practices.
Sen. Ann Gillespie, D-Arlington Heights, the lead Senate sponsor of the bill, acknowledged that the extension has created some opposition to the bill. She said she plans to amend the bill further before it goes to a final vote, including shortening the phase-in period so it would take effect in the 2022-2023 school year.
The use of isolation and restraint in school settings has long been criticized by advocates for students with disabilities.
Cheryl Jansen, public policy director for the disability rights organization Equip for Equality, said the practice of physical restraints in particular has been shown to be dangerous, and even lethal in some situations. She said restraint is used disproportionately on students with disabilities, and a disproportionate share of those students were Black or Latino.
Guy Stephens, who leads a group called the Alliance Against Seclusion and Restraint, said he became active in efforts to ban the practices after his autistic son was traumatized by the use of seclusion and restraint in school.
“Prone restraint is dangerous. It can lead to severe trauma and significant injuries in students, teachers and staff,” he said. “While school staff sometimes report that they need restraint to keep everyone safe, the data tells a different story. Every time restraint and seclusion is used, there’s an increased likelihood of injury, so students and teachers are more likely to be injured when using restraint.”
The bill passed out of the committee on a vote of 13-1, with Gillespie’s assurance that she would bring it back to the committee after amending it on the Senate floor.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
Local News
Mother Mac unveils new lights and scoreboard
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Across the nation, women’s sports are on the rise in terms of viewership, enthusiasm, sponsorship and excitement. Mother McAuley is no stranger to the impact that women’s athletics has on the development of an individual, strengthening of a team and key skills and attributes developed along the way. South Side…
Cicadas in the park in Palos Park
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Cicadas are coming and the Village of Palos Park is ready. The village hosted its 31st annual Arbor Day Celebration on Sunday, May 5, themed, “The Wonder of Trees” at The Center in the Lodge, 12700 Southwest Highway, with featured speaker, Tricia Bethke of The Morton Arboretum who presented, “Cicadas…
Palos Heights SD 128 sees enrollment boom
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Over the past few years, Palos Heights School District 128 has experienced an explosive growth among incoming students. There has been a significant increase particularly at Indian Hill Early Learning Center, 12800 S. Austin Ave. Chippewa Elementary School, 12425 S. Austin Ave; Navajo Elementary School, 12401 S. Oak Park Ave;…
Comings & Goings: Orange’s Pancake House now open in Palos Heights
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Palos Heights is the home of a popular new breakfast café. Orange’s Pancake House, 11845 Southwest Highway, held a ribbon-cutting event on April 18. Owners, Elvia Briones, of Virgina, and Fernando Cruz, of Evergreen Park, said they were very excited to be in the heart of the Palos Heights community.…
Sisters make Chicago Lawn a world destination
Spread the love. Kathy Headley Your correspondent in Chicago Lawn and Marquette Manor 6610 S. Francisco • (773) 776-7778 . Earlier this month was the Fifth Lithuanian Documentary Film Festival, with distinguished guests from Lithuania and other parts of the United States visiting the neighborhood. They held a photo session in the editorial office of…
Happy Mother’s Day to everyone, everyone
Spread the love. By Mary Stanek Your correspondent in Archer Heights and West Elsdon 3808 W. 57th Place • (773) 517-7796 . Yet another Mother’s Day is upon us. I wish everyone a happy day. By everyone I do mean everyone. There are a lot of dads who do it alone, along with important mother…
Mother’s Day is truly a day to be celebrated
Spread the love. Peggy Zabicki Your correspondent in West Lawn 3633 W. 60th Place • (773) 504-9327 . Mother’s Day happens on Sunday, May 12. If this isn’t something to celebrate, I don’t know what is. Motherhood means new life, new beginnings, new possibilities. Even if you won’t be seeing your mom, you can still…
Saint Xavier men’s volleyball finishes historic season in nation’s top 4
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Correspondent The Saint Xavier men’s volleyball team made history by advancing to the semifinals of the NAIA Men’s Volleyball National Championship. But the Cougars fell to eventual national champion Georgetown (Kentucky), 25-21, 25-23, 22-25, 21-25, 15-10, on May 3 at Alliant Energy PowerHouse in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Although there was…
Neighbors
Cruz booted from SD 229 school board in Oak Lawn
Spread the loveBy Dermot Connolly There is a vacancy on the Oak Lawn Community High School District 229 School Board, after members voted 6-1 last week to remove Robert Cruz for allegedly violating his oath of office, school board policy and state statutes. Cruz, a property developer, was elected to the District 229 board in…
Tax exemptions will be automatic, Kaegi says
Spread the loveFrom staff reports In response to the ongoing pandemic, the Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office will continue the automatic renewal of the Senior Freeze, Veterans with Disabilities and Persons with Disabilities Exemptions. The Homeowner and Senior Exemptions will continue to auto-renew every year. If a homeowner received any of these five exemptions…
Oak Lawn officials rip governor, legislators over crime
Spread the loveBy Joe Boyle Two Oak Lawn officials are calling for Gov. J.B. Pritzker and local legislators to re-evaluate a police reform law that they say has resulted in a rise in crime. Trustee Alex Olejniczak (2nd) served as mayor pro-tem during the Oak Lawn Village Board meeting Tuesday night in place of Mayor Terry Vorderer,…
Troop 1441 Scout earns Eagle rank
Spread the loveFrom staff reports A journey that began years ago for Adrian Ayala recently culminated in Boy Scouting’s highest honor. Ayala, a member of Boy Scout Troop 1441 (sponsored by the St. Mary Star of the Sea Holy Name Society) was honored at an Eagle ceremony at Duggan Hall on Jan. 13. The Eagle rank…
Hog Wild to open Monday in Oak Lawn
Spread the loveBy Kelly White Dining choices will get a boost in Oak Lawn with the arrival of Hog Wild. The restaurant is scheduled to open Monday, January 17, at 4040 W. 111th St. That’s a week later than originally scheduled. “We are very fortunate here in Oak Lawn to have attracted Hog Wild,” Oak…
Home security cameras could be big help to Orland cops
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Residents of Orland Park could have a hand in solving crime in the village. The board of trustees unanimously approved to move forward with a voluntary security camera registration program at its Jan. 4 meeting. It’s expected to start on Feb. 1. This program gives citizens and businesses a chance…
Ailing eagle on the mend
Spread the loveSeveral blocks northwest of Garfield Ridge—just west of 47th and Harlem–motorists late last month noticed an eagle flying low and acting erratically. The Villa Park-based Chicago Bird Collision Monitors was contacted, and its volunteers found and captured the majestic bird. It was transported to a facility owned and operated by Glen Ellyn-based Willowbrook…
Can’t we just fast-forward to spring?
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com Hi everyone. Is it spring yet? Is the pandemic over yet? Not that I’m impatient or anything. I want to move forward past all the negative COVID-19 has brought to my life and everyone else’s life. I want to see…