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All New York Schools Now Required To Observe Moment Of Silence On 9/11 Anniversary

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has signed a new law requiring all public schools in the state to observe a brief moment of silence on the anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks each year, CNN reported.

The new law, which goes into effect immediately, was unanimously approved by state lawmakers before Cuomo signed it.

Today marks the 18th anniversary of the terrorist attacks which saw Al Qaeda Islamists hijack four commercial airplanes.

Two of the jets were flown into New York's Twin Towers, while another was flown into the Pentagon and a fourth crashed in an open field in Somerset County, Pennsylvania.

More than 3,000 people were killed as a result of the September 11 attacks, including an estimated 343 Fire Department of New York firefighters and 71 police officers who were responding to the scene.

Gov. Cuomo said this new law is intended to "ensure future generations have an understanding of the [attacks] and their place in history."

In a statement, he explained the annual day of remembrance and moment of silence will help ensure that the events of 9/11 are never forgotten.

"Not just the pain of that moment," Cuomo said, "but of the courage, sacrifice and outpouring of love that defined out response."

Soon there will be no students in the public school system who were alive at the time of 9/11.

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State Sen. Joseph P. Addabbo, Jr. and Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato sponsored the new legislation, which they said the hope will ensure future generations remember both the victims and the people who gave their lives on September 11.

"The average school-age citizen in New York may have no personal recollection of these events, having not yet been born in 2001, making it imperative that our public education system take the time to educate students in both the loss and heroism experienced on 9/11," Addabbo said.

h/t: CNN

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