Gov. Healey Orders Required Instruction for Sept. 11 in Massachusetts Schools
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced plans to make Sept. 11 education mandatory in Massachusetts schools. Healey’s announcement came on Thursday, Sept. 11, during the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks…
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 11: Flowers are seen on names of victims of the 9/11 terror attack during the annual 9/11 Commemoration Ceremony at the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum on September 11, 2024 in New York City. U.S. President Joe Biden, Democratic presidential nominee, U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump and Republican vice presidential nominee, U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) joined family and friends at Ground Zero honoring the lives of their loved ones on the 23rd anniversary of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001, at the World Trade Center. Biden and Harris will also attend ceremonies at the Flight 93 National Memorial in Shanksville, Pa, and the Pentagon in Arlington, Va., making visits to all three sites of the terror attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey announced plans to make Sept. 11 education mandatory in Massachusetts schools. Healey's announcement came on Thursday, Sept. 11, during the 24th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on America.
Healey said she has directed education officials to fully incorporate Sept. 11 into school curriculum plans. Only 14 states currently require Sept. 11 to be taught in schools. Massachusetts does not.
"Every student in Massachusetts needs to be taught in school about 9/11," Healey told CBS News Boston WBZ-TV. "It's an incredibly important part of our American history. It's also a really important part of Massachusetts history because, sadly, so much of 9/11 happened from and involved so many Massachusetts families."
According to CBS News Boston, of the approximately 3,000 victims who died during the Sept. 11 attacks, 206 were from Massachusetts. The two planes piloted by terrorist hijackers that crashed into the World Trade Center in New York City originated from Logan International Airport in Boston.
While many schools in the state already provide instruction about Sept. 11, Healey wants to ensure consistent education across all schools in the commonwealth. She stressed that even young individuals who were not alive 24 years ago recognize the significance of remembering the victims of this tragedy.
"Especially now in our country's time, in this moment, it's really important that we remember events like 9/11," Healey said in a statement shared with CBS News Boston. "Both what happened there, the horrific tragedy, also the way it brought Americans together — the way this country was united, indivisible, and strong."
Healey's remarks came after meeting with young people in Boston who were involved in preparing military care packages for veterans and troops.
