NCTE Joins Call for Federal Appropriations Supporting Digital Citizenship and Literacy
The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) has cosigned a letter to federal appropriators asking them to provide funds that would support educators’ capacities to build and reinforce students’ digital citizenship and media literacy skills. The letter was crafted by members of the DigCitCommit Coalition.
This effort aligns with NCTE’s commitment to advancing critical media literacy and promoting digital citizenship skills that are critical to meaningful social and democratic participation.
In particular, the letter asks leaders of the House and Senate Subcommittees on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and related agencies to
- ensure full funding for the Student Support and Academic Enrichment (SSAE) block grant, which supports providing educators with professional development opportunities on the effective use of technology, including practices that reinforce digital citizenship skills.
- include $10 million in funding for the Institute of Education Sciences within the US Department of Education, supporting research on policies and programs that improve students’ abilities to collaborate with others to create safe and inclusive communities, solve local and global problems, and evaluate the perspective, accuracy, and validity of information.
- support critical funding in the president’s FY22 budget proposal, which includes several programs that would support educators’ effective use of technology, including uses that would reinforce digital citizenship skills.
NCTE is among 40 organizations that signed on in support of the letter.