Gov. DeSantis announces debut of 9/11 curriculum for Florida schools on 23rd anniversary

PALM HARBOR, Fla. (WFLA) — Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday morning the debut of a 9/11 curriculum for Florida schools while speaking at Curlew Hills Memory Gardens in Palm Harbor.

The speech took place on the 23rd anniversary of the terror attacks on America.

“To be able to meet so many people whose lives were turned upside down that day has been very touching,” DeSantis said.

The community joined several local agencies to remember the victims of the attacks and to honor the survivors.

“It strengthens the resolve to ensure that we’re doing everything we can to never forget, to honor the people that not only lost their lives that day but in the years since,” DeSantis added. “That day, that attack represented the worst that humanity has to offer.”

DeSantis said that the response to the attack, referencing the heroes on 9/11, represented the best of what humanity and America offer.

The Governor ended his speech by announcing a new development of the 9/11 curriculum, so that every year, there will be instruction on the causes and destruction of the attacks, along with the heroic responses.

“This was something that was devised in coordination with 9/11 families, with people who were veterans of the World Trade Center response, and veterans of the Pentagon,” DeSantis said. “And I think this is something that’s very, very meaningful.”

Florida is the number one state, outside of the Tri-State area, where 9/11 veterans have moved to since the tragedy. DeSantis said the Sunshine State has a “special obligation” to be the desired home for those there during the terror attacks.

“It’s a wake-up call to know that that evil is out there. But it also serves—or should serve—as inspiration to know the way those folks responded when everything was on the line. They rose to the occasion. They sacrificed themselves and they saved many, many lives in the process. We worked hard on that curriculum.”

The ceremony also featured several local students who shared stories of family members, followed by the keynote speakers and a local high school choir singing “God Bless America.”

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