Florida schools not required to incorporate 9/11 curriculum in classrooms

TAMPA, Fla. - Only 14 states have 9/11 as a mandatory component of K-12 curriculum, and Florida is not one of them.

Governor Ron DeSantis addressed nearly 2,000 people on Sunday at a 9/11 memorial service, where he pushed the importance of teaching 9/11 in classrooms across Florida and across the country.

"I think we need to make sure that our students in schools, are being taught about what 9/11 meant, how people responded to that, I think it’s an important part of being an American citizen," Governor DeSantis said.

RELATED: Governor Ron DeSantis commemorates 9/11 in Palm Harbor at Florida’s largest permanent memorial

Even though 9/11 is not part of Florida’s school curriculum, Tampa Bay area school districts have their own ways of informing students about the Sept. 11 attacks.

Since 2007, Nelson Elementary School in Hillsborough County has hosted "Ribbons to Remember," where first responders and men and women in the armed forces join students for a ceremony on campus each year on 9/11.

Franklin Boys Prep has its annual 9/11 ceremony too, where students place a piece of construction paper for every victim on the school’s front lawn.  Each piece of paper has information about the person who died. When they’re all put together on the front lawn, they make an American flag.

MORE: Father, daughter share stage to honor victims of Sept. 11 attacks at Hillsborough Patriot Day event

Schools in Pinellas County also have ways of incorporating lessons about 9/11, even though it is not required curriculum. A spokesperson for the district said it makes sure the way it is covered is age-appropriate.

Middle schoolers have history projects where they ask their parents about 9/11, then present those conversations to the class.

Pinellas high schoolers study newspaper articles about 9/11. The district also said teachers in the upper grade levels have the flexibility to elaborate on what happened.