STATEHOUSE (Jan. 22, 2018) – A bill authored by State Sen. Jean Leising (R-Oldenburg) to require cursive writing in schools today passed the full Senate by a vote of 38 to 11.
Senate Bill 8 would require each Indiana school corporation, charter school and accredited nonpublic elementary school to include cursive writing in their curriculum.
“Cursive writing was not made a Common Core standard in the past, so many schools stopped teaching the skill,” Leising said. “Now, we are starting to see the effects. For example, some teenagers are unable to sign their name to validate their driver’s license or sign agreements. It’s a simple, yet necessary skill we still use in society today, and it needs to be a part of our children’s educational foundation.”
This is the seventh year Leising has filed a cursive writing bill. While the bill passed the Senate each year, it did not receive a hearing in the House of Representatives.
In 2017, Leising co-authored Senate Enrolled Act 29, which required the Indiana Department of Education to conduct a voluntary survey asking Indiana elementary and secondary school teachers, principals, superintendents and members of governing bodies whether they support mandating cursive writing in schools. The results, which were released in October 2017, showed 70 percent of those surveyed supported a cursive writing requirement, but only 20 percent of our schools are teaching cursive.
“Based on these results and conversations I have had with residents of our community and state, I authored another cursive-writing bill this session, and I am hopeful it will finally receive a hearing in the House,” Leising said.
SB 8 will now move to the House of Representatives for hopeful action by the House Education Committee.
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For a high-resolution photo of Sen. Leising, click here.
