Gov. Ron DeSantis highlighted recent 9/11 curriculum requirements for Florida schools during a ceremony on Wednesday.
He spoke at a ceremony at the Curlew Hills Memory Gardens in Palm Harbor unveiling a memorial for victims of the 9/11 terror attacks. It's the 23rd anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
"Doing things every year on 9/11 is necessary, but it's not sufficient," DeSantis said. "And so I'm proud to have worked with the Florida Legislature to develop for our schools 9/11 curriculum."
It's the second year that the new rules have been in place.
The 9/11 Heroes' Day law was passed by Florida lawmakers and approved by the governor in 2023. It designates Sept. 11 as "9/11 Heroes' Day" in Florida and requires middle- and high-school students enrolled in civics courses to receive at least 45 minutes of instruction "on topics involving history and significance" of the terror attacks, according to a staff analysis of the bill.
Pinellas County House Representative Adam Anderson, who sponsored the legislation, also spoke at the ceremony Wednesday. The measure passed in 2023 as part of a larger education package that included updates to graduation testing scores and other curriculum updates, according to a Florida Politics report.
"I'm originally from a small commuter town in northern New Jersey, and I lived in an area where pretty much everyone knew someone that died that day," Anderson said. "So in that part of the country, students are taught about the lessons of 9/11 from first-hand accounts of American patriotism and our 9/11 Heroes' Day brings that same experience to every student here in the Sunshine State."
The remembrance ceremony also featured local speakers, ceremonial drill performances, military flyovers and a bald eagle named Thunder.
