What does K–12 cybersecurity look like?

It’s never too early to teach first graders about saving money, fifth graders about algebra, or eighth graders about how companies collect their digital data.

That last lecture, along with others about clickbait and password management, are part of Common Sense Media’s “K–12 Digital Citizenship” series, a free curriculum available since 2010 that includes a section on privacy and security.

The digital lessons thread important cybersecurity instruction throughout a young person’s educational journey—a structure its creators hope will have lasting impacts given how early and often the lessons occur.

“It’s just crucial for us that from the onset, when they get their first device or when they get their first tablet, that they’re really questioning their actions and all their clicks,” Yvette Renteria, chief program officer at Common Sense Media (CSM), told us.

It’s common sense! CSM, founded in 2003, is a nonprofit largely known for rating entertainment for its suitability for children. The organization collaborated with Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Project Zero in 2010 to produce the Digital Literacy and Citizenship Curriculum, later called the Digital Citizenship series.

CSM claims over 1.1 million teachers worldwide (and 70% of US schools) have used its digital citizenship resources. In February 2025, Connecticut selected the digital literacy curriculum as its statewide model for K–12 schools.

The free educational resources are mostly funded by philanthropic efforts, Renteria said, as well as monthly membership fees for its ratings and reviews.

Curric’ roll. Young people face disturbing cyber risks, including fraudulent heists in popular games, identity theft, and online child abuse.

“It is super important that even at the young age of a kindergartner, to be able to let them say, ‘Okay, have to pause and think. Use your brain, use your heart…What does this mean when you click on this?’” Renteria said. “If we can develop that at an early age, I think we could just be a lot more conscious in how we engage online.”

CSM’s resources include classes ranging from 25 minutes to about an hour, available in English or Spanish. A lesson for kindergartners features gumdrop-looking cartoons singing about the importance of balance and taking breaks from devices. First graders are encouraged to “pause and think” with the help of an internet traffic light that says when a site is green and good to go. Eighth graders work through “being aware of what you share.”

Twelfth graders tackle tougher ethical questions like, “Should the government have access to your social media data?”

“These are often topics that kids love to talk about. And it’s also oftentimes a neutral space where the teacher and the kids could have a conversation that doesn’t necessarily have to have a right or wrong answer,” Renteria said.

Attitude adjustment. The National Cybersecurity Alliance’s (NCA) most recent report on global cyber behavior noted 42% of gen Z and 47% of millennials believe “staying secure online is worthwhile,” compared to 79% of baby boomers.

“You have to teach them that what they do matters,” Lisa Plaggemier, executive director at the NCA, told IT Brew, emphasizing the importance of integrating cybersecurity principles into everyday classroom activity.

A recent survey from Pew Research center found that 46% of US teens admitted to being online “almost constantly,” on services like Instagram, YouTube, and other social media.

One more tool making its way to the screen is AI—tech that Common Sense has been considering, given young people’s likely interactions with fast-arriving AI chatbots.

“It’s really important for us to just have those conversations, and provide them with what questions they’re asking themselves as they engage with it,” Renteria said. “They’re making those choices and those decisions, so rapidly on their own.”