SPRINGFIELD — A survey of Illinois educators reveals a significant disparity in how they interpret a three-year-old state law’s requirement to teach high school students a “unit of instruction” on media literacy.

About one-third of respondents to a survey conducted by the University of Illinois Springfield indicated they spend more than one class period but no more than one week covering the topic, while about 29 percent spend more than three weeks’ worth of class periods. Sixteen percent of schools surveyed discuss media literacy during a single class period over the course of a full school year.

Illinois became the first state in the nation to require public high schools to teach media literacy, which can include lessons on accessing information, analyzing and evaluating media messages

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