Colorado SPJ President Doug Bell testified at the Capitol this week in favor of a bill that would create a news-literacy resource bank for K-12 teachers in the state.

Appearing before the House Education Committee on Wednesday afternoon, Bell urged the lawmakers to approve legislation, sponsored by Rep. Lisa Cutter, D-Jefferson County, and Rep. Barbara McLachlan, D-Western Slope, that is designed to help students tell the difference between sourced, documented facts and propaganda.

Cutter told the committee that young people need critical-thinking skills to evaluate social-media content and questionable click-bait on the internet. Several witnesses testified virtually and in person on the need for citizens to seek out facts and verified information in order to effectively participate in a democracy.

Bell talked about his time at the Capitol Reporter, a now-defunct student-staffed newspaper that covered the state legislature. He said the publication, which was run by Metropolitan State University of Denver, trained student journalists in objective, balanced and sourced reporting — precisely the type of stories Americans should be looking for.

“Many of those principles (taught at the Reporter) are directly relevant to the current critical need for news literacy in our democratic republic and our public schools,” Bell said.

Bell has been a strong advocate for news literacy among K-12 and college students during his time on the SPJ board and as news-literacy chair for the Colorado Press Association.

The bill passed on a 6-3 vote in the committee and moved on to the full House.