Lawmakers in one state could mandate students learn cursive handwriting again

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Some Ohio lawmakers want elementary school students to be able to print letters by third grade and write documents in "legible cursive handwriting" by the time they finish fifth grade. The Ohio House could vote Dec. 5 on a bill to require a return of teaching cursive writing

In February, Ohio House Education Committee Chairman Andrew Brenner, R-Powell, introduced a bill to mandate that kindergarteners through fifth-graders be instructed in handwriting.

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Schools have dialed back handwriting instruction to make more time for core academic requirements, such as helping struggling readers in first through third grades.

Cursive instruction is included in the state’s “model curriculum” for grades 3 and 4 and the State Board of Education passed a resolution in early 2014 in support of teaching cursive. But it isn’t a hard-and-fast requirement.

The same bill was introduced in 2015 but failed to pass before the two-year legislative session ended. Advocates of mandating cursive instruction say it helps hone fine motor skills, is needed for signing important records , and comes in handy when reading historical handwritten documents.

Cox Media Group