Starting in 2017, students in Louisiana schools will learn cursive writing in 3rd grade—and they’ll keep getting instruction on it through graduation.
A bill signed by Louisiana governor John Bel Edwards this week applies to both traditional public schools and charter schools.
The two-page bill states: “Cursive writing shall be taught in all public schools. Each public school shall ensure that such instruction is introduced by the 3rd grade and incorporated into the curriculum in grades 4 through 12.”
According to the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Republican state senator who sponsored the legislation, Beth Mizell, said, “I want people to be able to have a signature.” Other state senators said they supported the bill because documents such as the U.S. Constitution are written in cursive.
The Common Core State Standards, which have caused quite a bit of controversy in Louisiana, do not require teaching handwriting (though states are welcome to add it). Louisiana recently adopted a new set of standards to replace the common core, though the two sets of standards are nearly identical in many ways. And interestingly, the few changes the board of education made to the standards did not include adding cursive.
Image: iStock Photo
Related :
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- Ohio District Preserves Cursive By Teaching It in Art Class