How many states require cursive writing

A bill passed in in Tennessee made cursive a mandatory subject in grades two through four here. Schools in other parts of the world have also stepped away from script handwriting, emphasizing the relevance of keyboard skills, including Finland here Ontario and Quebec here. Versions of the U. Constitution and the Bill of Rights are widely available online and in print in a variety of formats and fonts. This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team.

Read more about our fact-checking work here. The law took effect with the — school year. Florida Florida dropped cursive from its state standards in but added it back in The standards include cursive instruction in grades 3—5. Idaho Students in Idaho must print legibly in grade 1 and legibly and with functional speed in grade 2.

They must write legibly in cursive in grade 3 and legibly and fluently in grade 4. Grades 5—6 students must be able to write fluently in either print or cursive. Illinois Illinois lawmakers passed a bill in November that requires public elementary schools to teach at least one unit of cursive writing, beginning in the — school year, any time before completion of grade 5.

Indiana The governor gave approval to teach manuscript and cursive in the primary grades. Kansas In , the Kansas board of education adopted handwriting standards that require instruction in manuscript beginning in kindergarten and cursive beginning in grade 3.

Louisiana Louisiana enacted a law in that said all public schools must teach cursive writing, introducing it by grade 3 and incorporating it into the curriculums in grades 4— But it was just one salvo in an old battle that is picking up a new head of steam. But removing cursive from school curricula is part of an ongoing evolution, according to Anne Trubek, author of the book The History and Uncertain Future of Handwriting.

Is it all just nostalgia, then? Are parents and teachers who are caught up in the controversy merely reliving old glories and trying to resurrect a useless relic? Is the battle over the future of cursive, in other words, really all about the past? Brain scans reveal neural circuitry lighting up when young children first print letters and then read them.