Digital Citizenship, Media Literacy, and Internet Safety.  In 2015, a non-exhaustive list of teacher-librarian duties were added to state law, which included instructing students in digital citizenship including how to be critical consumers of information and provide guidance about thoughtful and strategic use of online resources.

Beginning in the 2017-18 school year, school districts must annually review their policy and procedures on electronic resources and Internet safety and to consider best practices, resources, and models for instruction in digital citizenship, Internet safety, and media literacy, including methods to involve parents.

Digital citizenship includes the norms of appropriate, responsible, and healthy behavior related to current technology use, including digital and media literacy, ethics, etiquette, and security. The term also includes the ability to access, analyze, evaluate, develop, produce, and interpret media, as well as Internet safety and cyberbullying prevention and response.

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) was directed to create a web-based location with links to recommended successful practices and resources to support digital citizenship, media literacy, and Internet safety for use in the 2017-18 school year. OSPI must continue to identify and develop additional open educational resources to support digital citizenship, media literacy, and Internet safety in schools for the web-based location.

In 2021, OSPI established a temporary grant program, subject to appropriations, to support media literacy and digital citizenship through school district leadership teams. OSPI was also directed to convene two regional conferences, subject to appropriations, on the topic of media literacy and digital citizenship.

The Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction Guidance on Cell Phones and Smart Devices in Schools. In 2024, OSPI published guidance on cell phones and smart devices in schools and encouraged school leaders to update their policies by the start of the 2025-26 school year. The guidance included policy considerations addressed instructional use, learning environment, student mental and physical health, accommodations, and safety and emergency use.

In 2025, OSPI conducted a survey about these policies. OSPI reported that 53 percent of districts who will have a policy in place by the start of the 2025-26 school year said their policy would restrict access to smart devices during instructional time only, while 31 percent said that devices must be put away for the entire school day. 

The bill as referred to committee not considered.

Digital Citizenship, Media Literacy, and Internet Safety. The definition of digital citizenship is revised to include that the norms of appropriate, responsible, and healthy behavior related to current technology use includes the use of mobile devices. "Mobile device" means any personal mobile telephone or other portable electronic communication device with which a user engages in a call or writes or sends a message, or any device in which the user plays a game or watches a video. Mobile device does not include school-issued devices.

In its web-based location to support digital citizenship, media literacy, and Internet safety, OSPI must include research on student use of mobile devices and recommended best practice strategies for teaching students how to use their mobile devices responsibly. OSPI must also distribute information to public schools on how to access the web-based location.

Report on Student Use of Mobile Devices. By December 15, 2026, OSPI must submit an initial report with:

• a summary of the policies and procedures that have been adopted by public schools in Washington and in other states limiting student use of mobile devices during instructional hours; and
• a summary of the barriers that public schools have experienced when implementing these policies and procedures.

By December 15, 2028, OSPI must submit a final report with:

• an updated summary of the policies and procedures that have been adopted by public schools in Washington limiting student use of mobile devices during instructional hours;
• an updated summary of the barriers that public schools have experienced when implementing these policies and procedures; and
• evidence-based recommendations related to student mobile device use during instructional hours that support academic learning, healthy social relationships and emotional well-being, and recommendations for incorporating student mobile device use within digital citizenship.