A growing number of educational resources are being criticized for presenting a version of the September 11th attacks that critics argue downplays the role of Islamic terrorism and shifts focus to alleged American Islamophobia and "woke distortions." Only two states, Arizona and Florida, legally mandate that 9/11 be taught in public schools, while ten others encourage it through various means. This lack of uniform, mandated curriculum has created an opening for alternative lesson plans, some of which are funded by organizations associated with billionaire George Soros.
One such curriculum, "Teaching Beyond September 11th," developed by the University of Pennsylvania's Graduate School of Education, is recommended by education departments in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, and Oregon. This curriculum reportedly devotes only a single paragraph to the attacks themselves and fails to explicitly label the perpetrators as terrorists or mention Osama bin Laden's direct role and confessions. Instead, it focuses on topics like "Islamophobia and the Oval Office," "Surveillance of Muslims," and "Muslim Youth and Resistance." The curriculum describes the events as 19 hijackers flying planes into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, resulting in the deaths of 2,996 people, including the hijackers, without detailing the perpetrators' radical Islamist motivations or their broader extremist ideology.
Critics, including parents of 9/11 victims and lawmakers, argue that these materials are a form of historical revisionism that erases the victims and the causes of the attacks. They contend that such lessons promote a political agenda and activism rather than factual historical education. Zineb Riboua, a Research Fellow at the Hudson Institute, stated that attempts to rewrite 9/11 history are part of a broader leftist effort to teach children that America is responsible for global atrocities, thereby reducing American power and sovereignty.
Further examples of controversial approaches include resources from the National Education Association (NEA) that quote anti-Israel professor Edward Said and blame 9/11 on U.S. support for Israel. The Voices Ethnic Studies curriculum used in Pittsburgh public schools reportedly emphasizes "increased experiences with racism and Islamophobia" following the attacks, with little mention of the perpetrators or victims. A California curriculum allegedly referred to America as a "colonizer," and the Council on American-Islamic Relations promotes materials accusing the U.S. of "state-sanctioned Islamophobia" post-9/11.
A poll released by the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa indicated that 66% of American Middle East Studies professors believe college students cannot identify the perpetrators or causes of the 9/11 attacks. Two-thirds of these professors also believe scholarly work sometimes covers for anti-American ideologies.
Some educators have incorporated Osama bin Laden's "Letter to America" into their lessons, prompting students to analyze his anti-Semitic views and critiques of Western civilization. One such lesson plan, created by an NYC teacher and shared on a teacher resource portal, asked students to consider why bin Laden believed America was the "worst civilization witnessed by the history of mankind."
While a spokesperson for UPenn's Graduate School of Education stated that "Teaching Beyond September 11th" is intended as a supplement to existing coursework and focuses on the aftermath of the attacks, and an NYC Department of Education spokesperson noted that it is one of many curriculum options available to teachers, critics maintain that these alternative narratives distort a critical historical event.