HARRISBURG – Legislation that would require the Pennsylvania Department of Education to establish model curriculum on the events of September 11 to be made available to school entities across the state received the unanimous approval of the Senate of Pennsylvania on Wednesday, according to Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill (R-York).
“Today’s high school students were not alive on that tragic day,” Phillips-Hill said. “Even young men and women who are recruits of our country’s Armed Services, who are possibly going to fight in battles as a result of the terrorist attacks 19 years ago, do not fully know what transpired on September 11, 2001. This legislation will provide our schools with a valuable option to educate students on the heinous events of that fateful Tuesday morning and the ripple effects it had on our nation’s history,” Phillips-Hill said.
Phillips-Hill amended her Senate Bill 574 into Senate Bill 869 during Senate session on Tuesday. The Senate approved Senate Bill 869 on Wednesday, which, in addition to the model curriculum, also includes provisions requiring schools to observe a moment of silence on September 11 and on December 7 on Pearl Harbor Day.
Under Phillips-Hill’s provision, the Pennsylvania Department of Education would develop model curriculum on the events of September 11, 2001 within one year. The curriculum would include the historical context of terrorism, details of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and Flight 93, which crashed in Shanksville, PA. The curriculum would also cover the United States’ recovery and response to the terrorist attacks along with global challenges and consequences in the post-September 11 world.
The bill now moves to the House of Representatives for its consideration.