On Tuesday, the Arizona Senate passed Rep. John Kavanagh’s 9/11 Education Day bill. The bill, HB2325, establishes September 11 as 9/11 Education Day and requires each public school to dedicate a portion of the school day to education on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Rep. Kavanagh served 20 years as a police officer with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, retiring as a detective sergeant prior to 2001.
The State Board of Education (SBE) is required to prescribe minimum course of study and competency requirements for students in common school and high school grades that incorporate the academic standards adopted by SBE (A.R.S. §§ 15-701, 15-701.01). Currently, the History and Social Science Standards provide that the high school United States/Arizona history course should incorporate content from outlined historical eras, such as the contemporary United States including 9/11 (History and Social Science Standards).
HB2325 provides:
1. Designates September 11 of each year as 9/11 Education Day.
2. Specifies 9/11 Education Day is not a legal holiday.
3. Mandates each public school dedicate a portion of the school day to age-appropriate education on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 on 9/11 Education Day.
4. Details that if 9/11 Education Day falls on a day when a public school is not in session, the preceding or following school day is observed in the public school as the holiday.
5. Instructs SBE to develop a list of recommended resources relating to age-appropriate education on the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 that align with the academic standards prescribed by SBE.
6. Requires SBE to establish a process to allow public schools to recommend resources for addition to the list.
7. Allows SBE to develop policies or adopt rules to carry out the outlined requirements for 9/11 Education Day.