Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session Status: In Committee 8 D cosponsors

SB 839 — An Act amending the act of March 10, 1949 (P.L.30, No.14), known as the Public School Code of 1949, in terms and courses of study, providing for media literacy education.

Last action — Referred to Education

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced June 06, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Stalled 26% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 8 sponsors

    1 primary, 7 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Single-party support

    Sponsorship is currently within one party (8 D).

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Bill Text

How this bill changes current law

4 changes Share ↗

AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

This bill mandates the incorporation of media literacy education into the public school curriculum in Pennsylvania.

  • Section 1556

    Media Literacy Education.--(a) The Department of Education, in consultation with the State Board of Education, shall develop, within twelve (12) months of the effective date of this section, an age-appropriate model curriculum for students in kindergarten through grade twelve for media literacy instruction. Beginning with the school year that commences after the effective date of this section, a school district shall incorporate into the school curriculum a component regarding media literacy.

    This establishes a requirement for media literacy education in public schools.

  • Section 1556

    (b) The curriculum may include, but need not be limited to: (1) developing critical thinking skills; (2) understanding how media messages shape culture and society; (3) identifying target-marketing strategies; (4) naming techniques of persuasion used; (5) recognizing bias and misinformation; (6) discovering parts of a story that are not being told; and (7) evaluating media messages based on personal experiences, skills, beliefs and values.

    This defines what the media literacy curriculum may encompass.

  • Section 1556

    (c) The Department of Education shall make the curriculum, a list of resources and other available material on media literacy available on its publicly accessible Internet website.

    This requires the Department of Education to provide accessible resources for media literacy.

  • Section 1556

    (d) The Department of Education shall ensure that approved media literacy training opportunities are made available for use in professional development programs for teachers.

    This mandates training opportunities for teachers on media literacy education.

Action History

  1. Referred to Education

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 7 co-sponsors · 245 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (7)

Not signed on (245)

245 members have not signed on to this bill.

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"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

education
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors SB 839?
SB 839 is sponsored by Katie J. Muth (Democratic), Christine M. Tartaglione (Democratic), Vincent J. Hughes (Democratic), Wayne D. Fontana (Democratic), Art Haywood (Democratic), Steven J. Santarsiero (Democratic), John I. Kane (Democratic), and Timothy P. Kearney (Democratic).
What is the current status of SB 839?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced June 06, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track SB 839?
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Last checked for changes 3 months ago · updated continuously

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