How every US state approaches 9/11 history in schools

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NEW YORK (AP) — Here's what U.S. states expect or suggest about teaching 9/11 in public schools, according to reporting by The Associated Press.

A 2024 revision to Alabama’s social studies standards expanded coverage of the modern era, including 9/11, the state Department of Education said. Now, fifth graders are required to “trace the United States’ military involvement in international conflicts since 1980, including those following the Sept. 11 attacks,” while high school juniors must “evaluate the effectiveness of the United States’ response” to 9/11, including the war in Afghanistan, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and passage of the Patriot Act. The act granted the federal government sweeping surveillance powers in the interest of pursuing possible terrorists.

Alaska doesn’t have a statewide requirement or specific policy mandating instruction about 9/11, but the state’s “learning objectives support addressing important dates and events in history, which may include Sept. 11, within broader instructional goals,” the state Department of Education & Early Development said. Individual school districts decide whether and how to teach about 9/11, but the agency said it’s in the early stages of developing “core knowledge” documents to give more guidance on teaching specific historical events and dates.

Arizona lawmakers decided in 2022 to require every public school to devote time on or around each 9/11 anniversary to “age-appropriate education” about the attacks. Three years later, they limited the requirement to seventh through 12th grades. State Sen. John Kavanagh, who sponsored the original law, said that he supported the change after hearing concerns about how younger students would handle the catastrophic images and complexity of 9/11. “You don’t want to introduce it too young, but by the same token, you want everybody eventually to know about it,” said Kavanagh, a Republican. State law also requires the state Department of Education to provide a list of recommended instructional materials on the subject.

Updated in 2022, Arkansas' standards for modern U.S. history require students to be able to explain “change and continuity in foreign policy since 2001 after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks," including the Bush administration's response, the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, and anti-terror efforts, such as the Patriot Act and Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, a Supreme Court case that concerned the legal rights of U.S. citizens detained as “enemy combatants.” The state Department of Education didn't provide information to AP.

A 2021 California law encourages public schools to hold a moment of silence each Sept. 11. “Decisions about how and whether to address this tragic and pivotal event in our nation’s history are generally made at the local level by school districts and educators,” the state Department of Education said, but there are some recommendations in state guidance for teachers. Tenth grade world history students might get this prompt: “Since 9/11, the hopes for a more peaceful world that the end of the Cold War spawned have been displaced by a resurgence of international conflict. ... Did 9/11 change everything? Or was the world in the 1990s less stable than it might have appeared at the time?” Seniors in a class on American democracy might discuss the expansion of presidential powers and the debate over national security and civil liberties after 9/11.

Colorado's social studies standards give school districts considerable flexibility, the state Department of Education said. But examples of topics for high school history include “the war on terror (e.g., 9/11, Afghanistan and Iraq wars, Middle Eastern discrimination and the evolution of U.S. counterterrorism efforts).”

Connecticut leans heavily into local decision-making for schools, and its Department of Education said the state doesn't have a requirement or policy about covering 9/11 in the classroom. However, its education standards suggest that high school students analyze the causes and effects of the Sept. 11 attacks and how they shaped perspectives in the U.S., from the Patriot Act and creation of post-9/11 agencies to the views of Muslims and Sikhs.

Delaware doesn't have a law or regulation that requires teachers to cover 9/11, but it's often addressed in high school civics and U.S. history courses, according to the state Department of Education. “Many teachers include the Sept. 11 attacks when addressing contemporary U.S. history, terrorism, foreign policy and debates about the balance between security and individual rights,” the department said.

A 2023 Florida law requires at least 45 minutes a year of 9/11-related instruction in some middle and high school classes. The statute lists points to cover: historical context on terrorism, the attack timeline, acts of heroism and charity, the “importance of respecting civil liberties while ensuring safety and security,” and more. It notably mentions not only those killed and wounded but also people who fell ill after being exposed to toxins when the World Trade Center's burning twin towers collapsed. State standards go into still more detail. It's all intended “to ensure this important event in America’s history is not only remembered but also integrated into civics and resiliency education statewide,” the state Department of Education said.

Georgia's social studies standards require instruction on 9/11 beginning in fifth grade, when students are expected to be able to describe the attacks and analyze their impact on American life. High school U.S. history classes analyze Sept. 11 and the war on terror under the rubric of "challenges faced by recent presidents.” The state Department of Education didn't respond to inquiries from AP. Georgia Association of Educators President Wayne Huston, a middle school social studies teacher, said his suburban Atlanta school also holds a moment of silence each Sept. 11.

Hawaii has no statewide requirement or policy mandating instruction specifically on 9/11, the state Department of Education said. But the state's standards for high school U.S. history and government mention 9/11, the war on terror and the Patriot Act in lists of “sample content” that schools might use to illustrate the rise and impact of modern conservatism.

Idaho added Sept. 11-specific requirements to its social studies standards in an overhaul approved this year, the state Department of Education said. During the lengthy revision process, “there was clear feedback that certain major historical events, particularly those with lasting national and global impact, should be more explicitly identified to ensure they are consistently addressed,” the agency said. High school U.S. history students now must assess government responses to terrorism, “including those after Sept. 11, 2001, and analyze the causes, progression and aftermath” of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Illinois' education law lists Sept. 11 among “commemorative holidays” that schools may mark with instruction, activities or events, but they aren't required to do so. The state Board of Education noted that its “ Inclusive Calendar ” offers 9/11 teaching materials, but “local school boards and educators decide what instructional materials to use and how specific topics are addressed in the classroom.”

Indiana's standards for high school U.S. history expect students to “explain the background and effects” of 9/11 “on U.S. foreign and domestic policy."

A hotly debated 2024 Iowa law called for focusing social studies on “United States history, Western civilization and civics” and detailed many topics and events to teach, among them 9/11 and the war on terror. The state's new social studies standards, approved this year, require U.S. history courses to cover Sept. 11, then-President George W. Bush's address to Congress nine days later, the war on terror and the Patriot Act. The previous standards, from 2017, made no specific mention of these or other aspects of 9/11 and were more general overall.

Kansas does not require schools to teach about Sept. 11, the state Department of Education said. The state's social studies standards suggest, in appendices, that high school U.S. history students learn about the period of the “diminishing Cold War to 9/11,” the war on terror and the Patriot Act.

In Kentucky, “how the events of Sept. 11 or its commemoration are included in a school’s curriculum is a local decision,” but the state's social studies standards invite discussion of the subject, the state Department of Education said. For example, high school U.S. history standards suggest exploring U.S. involvement in “international alliances fighting against terrorism around the world after 9/11.”

Louisiana's “Freedom Framework” social studies standards, inked in 2022 after a fraught process, address 9/11 at multiple points. A second grade survey of monuments includes the National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum; eighth graders are expected to place 9/11 and the war on terror in the context of U.S.-Mideast relations. High school U.S. history students are taught about the leadup to the attacks, details of the day including then-President George W. Bush's brief speech from Louisiana's Barksdale Air Force Base, and aftermath ranging from the expansion of intelligence agencies to the sense of unity many Americans felt for a time. Education Superintendent Cade Brumley said officials wanted students to appreciate that “what we have seen as a country is that when our freedom is threatened, we protect and we defend and we coalesce around that.”

Maine's broad social studies standards don't specifically require teaching about 9/11, but many schools do incorporate it into their curricula, the state Department of Education said.

Sept. 11 is “embedded within required coursework” in Maryland, its Department of Education said. The state's high school U.S. history “framework” tasks students with evaluating how government responses to the attacks "challenged the balance between safety and freedom” and with assessing the causes, course, and consequences of the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

Massachusetts has incorporated 9/11 in its social science “framework” since 2003, the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said. The state expects high school U.S. history students to “evaluate the effectiveness of the federal government’s response to international terrorism in the 21st century," including 9/11, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, post-9/11 expansions of the government's powers under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. The state education board devoted part of an April meeting to discussing materials available for teaching about 9/11 on this year's 25th anniversary.

Michigan's social studies standards expect high school U.S history students to “analyze how the attacks on 9/11 and the response to terrorism have altered American domestic and international policies.” Suggested discussion points include not only the Department of Homeland Security, the Patriot Act and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, but also NATO and the U.S. role in the United Nations.

Minnesota's social studies standards generally focus on big themes, eras and context, and they don’t specifically mention 9/11, the state Department of Education said.

Mississippi's social studies standards expect high school U.S. history students to be able to describe 9/11, the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, the Patriot Act and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration. Standards for a required world history course also mention 9/11.

Missouri's high school U.S. history standards call for unpacking post-9/11 foreign policy, security challenges and the “balance of individual liberties and national security," and the war on terror.

Montana doesn't require schools to teach about 9/11, the state Office of Public Instruction said. But some lawmakers have been considering potential ways to change that. “We have 25-year-old young men and women right now that have no memory of this — we do need to have education along these lines,” said state Rep. Randyn Gregg, a Republican. “This changed America.”

Nebraska's social studies standards mention 9/11 and its observance as Patriot Day among examples that educators might use to teach third graders about national commemorations, fourth graders about key events in U.S. history, and eighth graders about “the significance of patriotic symbols.”

Nevada doesn't specifically require instruction about 9/11, the state Department of Education said. The agency noted that Sept. 11 can fit within the state's broad, thematic standards for high school history classes.

New Hampshire doesn't require teaching about 9/11, the state Department of Education said. The state's social studies framework does mention the attacks as an optional example to teach elementary school students how major national events affect everyday life; similarly, the war on terror is a potential example for illuminating how events affect international relations.

New Jersey's social studies standards require high school history classes to discuss the post-9/11 debate over national security and civil liberties, and to evaluate the U.S. decisions to wage the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. Teachers in lower grades are encouraged to address Sept. 11 “in a manner that is age-appropriate and sensitive to the individual and community experiences of 9/11 in their districts,” the state Department of Education said. Some state lawmakers proposed this year to expand the 9/11 instruction requirement and to require all public schools to hold 9/11 commemorations annually.

New Mexico's social studies standards require high school U.S. history students to evaluate how 9/11 and other major modern world events affected diverse groups of people, the state Public Education Department said. A supplemental, optional guidance document breaks down the 9/11 discussion into “sample concepts/content" including the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, the Patriot Act, the Abu Ghraib prisoner-abuse scandal and the U.S. detention of suspected enemy combatants at the U.S. Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. State standards for high school world history classes also suggest discussing 9/11 and the war on terror.

New York, where two hijacked planes slammed into the World Trade Center on 9/11, wants to ensure that “future generations understand the profound impact the events of Sept. 11, 2001, had on our nation and state,” the Department of Education said. Under the state's social studies “framework,” eighth graders are expected to learn about the attacks' effects on national security, the Patriot Act, the creation of the Department of Homeland Security and the war on terror. Tenth graders examine Sept. 11 through the lens of “threats to global security." Juniors drill down on the U.S. public's and government's reaction to the attacks, including “controversial foreign and domestic policies,” from the Iraq war's basis in erroneous allegations about weapons of mass destruction to the constitutional and civil liberties concerns surrounding Patriot Act-empowered surveillance. A 2019 New York law provides for a moment of silence in schools each Sept. 11.

North Carolina's social studies standards don't specifically require teaching about 9/11, but supplemental guidance mentions it as possible material for various lessons in second, fifth and eighth grades and high school, the state Department of Public Instruction said. The high school guidance lists Sept. 11 as a potential example of multiple themes — from episodes of xenophobia and intolerance to power shifts among levels of government — and offers a sample class exercise about the Patriot Act.

North Dakota doesn't require teaching about 9/11, the state Department of Public Instruction said, but its social studies standards mention the attacks as an event that U.S. history classes may use to “connect the changing political and social climate to the United States’ involvement as a global superpower.” The Afghanistan and Iraq wars, the debate between national security and individual liberties and the “social and cultural impacts of domestic terrorist attacks” also are mentioned.

Ohio doesn't require education about 9/11, as schools and districts control their curricula, the state Department of Education & Workforce said. It said schools don't have to follow the state social studies standards, but they do offer material for high school U.S. history classes about how the nation faced “new political, national security and economic challenges” and foreign policy issues after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Oklahoma's social studies standards call for teaching high school U.S. history students about 9/11, “including examples of heroism and efforts to combat terrorism,” mentioning the Patriot Act and the creation of the Department of Homeland Security. As the state where an anti-government extremist bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building and killed 168 people in 1995, the state is forthright with students about these difficult pieces of history, state Department of Education social studies project manager Brenda Beymer-Chapman said.

Oregon has no requirement or policy concerning teaching about 9/11, the state Department of Education said, but its social science standards “emphasize analyzing significant historical turning points, evaluating causes and consequences and examining how governments respond to crises — making 9/11 a natural fit within high school civics and history.”