New York now has a 9/11 Remembrance Day: Here's what it requires in schools

ALBANY - New York now has an official September 11th Remembrance Day.

The new law, signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Monday, allows for a brief moment of silence in public schools in New York every 9/11 to memorialize the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

The goal, Cuomo said, is to encourage dialogue and education in the classroom about the attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people, including at the World Trade Center in Manhattan.

"9/11 was one of the single darkest periods in this state's and this nation's history," Cuomo said in a statement.

"We owe it to those we lost and to the countless heroes who ran toward danger that day and the days that followed to do everything we can to keep their memory alive." 

The bill, which passed the state Legislature in June, adds 9/11 to the list of holidays to be commemorated in schools.

The law says it is the role of the education commissioner to make special provision for the observance of a brief period of silence for September 11th Remembrance Day."

The law takes effect immediately.

Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato, D-Queens said students who graduated high school earlier this year were newborns on 9/11, so it's important for students to be educated about the attacks. 

"Soon enough, there will be no students in the national public school system born at the time of 9/11," Amato, the bill's sponsor, said in a statement.

"By mandating a brief moment of silent reflection every year, we may ensure that future generations will better understand this day and its significance in our history."

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