WASHINGTON D.C.- Today Congress passed legislation to recognize the Fallen Educators Memorial in Emporia, Kansas a national memorial. The Fallen Educators Memorial honors teachers, administrators, and staff members who lost their lives while working for our nation’s schools.

“Educators devote their lives to preparing our children for life-long success and rewarding careers, it is so important to remember these men and women as the heroes that they truly are.” Rep. Marshall said.

Rep. Marshall and Sen. Moran both introduced bills in the House and Senate for its designation.

“Educators play an integral role in shaping the next generations of Americans, and their dedication to the safety of their students too often goes unrecognized,” said Sen. Moran. “I applaud the House for passing this legislation to designate this memorial a National Memorial and I look forward to the president signing this bill into law, making certain the memorial continues to recognize fallen educators whose passion and commitment to their students have benefitted us all.”

Once the president signs this into law, the memorial will be the first nationally designated memorial in Kansas.

“On behalf of The National Teachers Hall of Fame staff and Board of Trustees, we are deeply indebted to the hard work of Senator Jerry Moran and Representative Roger Marshall to bring our vision of a national memorial to a reality,”Director of the National Teachers Hall of Fame, (NTHF which created the memorial) Carol Strickland, said.

The United States currently lacks a national memorial to honor our fallen teachers.

“They are sometimes the first responder, protector, and guardian of our children, providing a safe haven for learning to occur.  The memorial will forever remember the names and stories of these educators who lost their lives while doing what they loved, working with America’s school children,” Strickland said.

Today the memorial honors 119 American educators have lost their lives while performing their professional duties.

“While we hope that no more names will ever have to be added, this memorial site provides a degree of comfort and solace to the loved ones left behind after accidents and tragedies occur in our nation’s schools,” Strickland said.

Following the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012 that killed six educators and 20 children, the Emporia Community and the NTHF began brainstorming ways to honor the educators who lost their lives in the attack. That’s when they realized that there was nothing currently commemorating our nation’s fallen teachers. They began raising money and built the memorial in just two years.

“This was a true community effort. I am so proud of the folks at the National Teacher’s Hall of Fame and Emporia State University for their leadership that got this memorial off the ground, and I’m proud that it will soon get national recognition,” Rep. Marshall said.