Cursive writing instruction being resurrected
Oct. 13, 2023, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 446. Now cursive writing or joined italics will be included as part of the educational program for grades one through six.
Although it was never formally dropped, writing instruction, particularly for cursive, waned as the use of laptop computers and tablets grew within the school environment. It is still officially part of the third and fourth grade programs but enforcement has declined.
When introducing the bill, its author, Assemblywoman Sharon Quirk-Silva (D-District 67, north Orange County) said, “As an elementary school teacher for over three decades, cursive writing was always an important part of our curriculum. Writing in cursive has multiple benefits, including better brain development, retention, and learning in children. Writing in cursive helps join the auditory and language centers of the brain. It is also beneficial as an adult; the ability to sign their name in cursive is important for future job applications, writing checks, signing medical forms, obtaining driver’s licenses, and voting.
“However, whether students are taught cursive writing depends on where they attend school. Every child should be exposed to learning as well as the benefits of cursive writing on their educational development,” she stressed.
Computer technology has limited the need for students to write by hand because modern school utensils are handheld devices. These tools serve the needs for many tests and essay submissions. National educational leaders acknowledged this trend in 2010, when a revision to the Common Core State Standards omitted any specific mention of cursive writing. Yet, keyboard skills are specific to grades three through five.
“In Hemet Unified School District [HUSD], we are committed to supporting the instruction of cursive writing. Within the district’s Elementary adopted core English Language Arts curriculum, there exists a supplementary cursive writing component available for teachers to incorporate at their discretion,” Dr. Christy Barrett, HUSD superintendent, said in an email to the Town Crier. “We recognize the connection of this skill in fostering comprehensive literacy and we are committed to embracing a full continuum of writing instruction.”
[Personally, the author has seen a fifth grade student needing help from their aunt to read a birthday greeting. Whether that was unfamiliarity with cursive or the quality of the writing is uncertain.]

According to Mycursive.com (a website devoted to cursive writing), 23 states now require students to learn to write in cursive. It notes that the Declaration of Independence was written in cursive.
Consequently, one of the reasons for reviving the skill and knowledge of cursive writing is the ability to read historical documents.
The Assembly’s Education Committee Report on AB 446, in advance of its hearing, referenced two major studies that identified the value of handwriting skills. These studies reviewed 110 individual studies and research between 1968 and 2021.
In summary, the value of handwriting skills is clear and the order of learning printing or cursive does not matter.
While the evaluation of these studies could not definitively identify the value of knowing cursive, it did conclude, “learning both manuscript and cursive is the choice that requires more effort on the part of children, so it’s probably not the first choice to consider. But this choice seems to have a positive impact on reading skills.”
In support of AB 446, the Los Angeles County Office of Education wrote, “Researchers have long studied the effects and links between handwriting and reading development. There are clear connections between the linguistic processes of reading and the motor process of handwriting, which keyboarding skills do not replicate.”
This is not the first time that Quirk-Silva tried to resurrect the teaching of cursive. In 2018, a similar bill died in committee. But in 2023, AB 446 passed both the Assembly and the state Senate without any opposition.