By Hank Russell
A piece of legislation that would amend the state’s Education Law to establish a committee to conduct a survey of instruction on the history and civic impact of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks is currently stuck in the Assembly.
Under the bill, introduced by Michael Durso (R-Massapequa Park), the committee would be comprised of four members —- one appointed by the governor, another appointed by the temporary president of the senate, one by the speaker of the Assembly and one by the education commissioner. All appointed members should be experts in the history and civic impact of the 9/11 attacks, and/or have a background in educational instruction and/or administration.
In addition, the committee will meet at least four times a year and make recommendations on producing a high-quality K-12 curriculum covering the events of the 9/11 attacks. They would have two years to submit their recommendations to the education commissioner; after that, the committee would be disbanded.
Additional local sponsors of this bill are Ari Brown (R-Cedarhurst), Keith Brown (R.C-Northport), Daniel Norber (R.C-Great Neck), Joe DeStefano (R-Medford), and David McDonough (R-Bellmore).
Durso introduced the bill on August 13. It has been referred to the Education Committee.
This is not the only bill introduced by a local elected official to introduce 9/11 into the school curriculum. As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, U.S. Representative Andrew Garbarino (R-Patchogue) reintroduced a bill that would require schools in all 50 states to teach the events leading up to the 9/11 attacks.
“Remembering the September 11, 2001 attacks on America is about honoring those we lost and teaching future generations the resilience, courage, and unity shown by average Americans and first responders,” Durso said. “This legislation ensures that our schools can carry forward these lessons with clarity and care.”