HB 1792 Missouri House · 2026 Regular Session

Establishes the Media Literacy and Critical Thinking Act

HB 1792 establishes a two-year pilot program (2027-2029) to integrate media literacy into K-12 public schools across 5-7 diverse districts. The program requires schools to teach students to analyze news, identify misinformation, understand algorithms, practice digital safety, and recognize bias in media - including social media and online content - while connecting these skills to First Amendment rights. The Department of Education will study pilot outcomes and develop statewide guidelines and potential standards by 2030, focusing on practical classroom strategies for critical media evaluation. This bill directly affects public school districts, educators, and students in the participating schools during the pilot period.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Dec 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Dec 1, 2025 Last action Mar 26, 2026
Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
12
Key actions
4
Committee
6
Mar 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported Do Pass (H) - AYES: 9 NOES: 0 PRESENT: 0
lower
Mar 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
Voted Do Pass (H)
lower
Mar 10, 2026
Committee
Referred: Rules - Administrative(H)
lower
Mar 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported Do Pass (H) - AYES: 15 NOES: 0 PRESENT: 0
lower
Mar 3, 2026
Lower · Passed
Voted Do Pass (H)
lower
Feb 5, 2026
Committee
Referred: Children and Families(H)
lower
Dec 1, 2025
Introduced
Prefiled (H)
lower
1 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors