Bill to require schools to teach cursive writing

A bill in the state legislature would require Indiana students to learn cursive writing, a requirement that was eliminated last year.

The bill, SB 0083, is sponsored by Sen. Jean Leising, R-Oldenburg, and would include cursive writing as a standard in language arts curriculum.

Leising said cursive skills go beyond formal writing.

“If children aren’t taught to write cursive, they won’t be able to read cursive,” Leasing said. “So in a sense, there will be a new kind of illiteracy.”

Last spring, the Indiana Department of Education decided to put focus on keyboard literacy instead of cursive writing in the third grade.

A press release from the DOE in April 2011 said districts could “decide to stop teaching cursive next year to focus the curriculum on more important areas.”

“Indiana is a very diverse state, and local control should be given,” said Mark Shoup, a spokesman for the Indiana State Teacher’s Association. “If a district wants to teach more on technology, we say go for it. If a district wants to emphasize cursive writing, we say go for it. The issue is that local schools and school boards know what’s best for their students.”

— Charles Scudder