Success !! Call to Action : Cursive handwriting in public school (1/29/2025) (Follow-up)

 The New Jersey State Senate Education Committee Heard You!

THANK YOU for your overwhelming response.

 On Thursday, January 30, the New Jersey State Senate education committee passed S1783/A1511, which "requires instruction on cursive handwriting in public school curriculum." The vote was unanimous, 5-0.

When passed into law, this legislation will require an expenditure to implement the curriculum. The bill was referred to the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee. 

The Center for Garden State Families will keep you informed as the bill moves through the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee as well as any activity in the New Jersey Assembly.

If you have not responded to the alert please click on the link below and let your legislators know that you want cursive handwriting required in your local school district. Click here: Cursive Handwriting to be Required in NJ Public School Curriculum

Statement from the New Jersey Senate Education Committee:

The Senate Education Committee favorably reports a Senate Committee Substitute for Senate Bill Nos. 1783 and 2712.

     "This committee substitute requires a school district to incorporate instruction on cursive handwriting into the curriculum for students in grades kindergarten through five. The curriculum is to include activities and instructional materials that help students become proficient in reading cursive and writing in cursive legibly by the end of the grade three.

     Some research suggests that learning to read and write in cursive benefits the development of cognitive, motor, and literacy skills.  Instruction in cursive handwriting has also been associated with improved academic outcomes for students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia."

The Center for Garden State Families has always supported the return of cursive handwriting to all government school education. 

Scholastic a creator of reading materials and books for primary education, states the following:

Though cursive writing may be seen as dated and outdated by some, one Université de Montréal study suggests that children who have cursive writing practice may receive a significant boost in their critical reading and writing skills. Read on for the three specific benefits kids get from learning cursive. 
 

1. Your child may become a better speller.

Researchers found that elementary students who learn cursive are usually better spellers. That may be because kids who write in cursive are often able to grasp how letters fit together to form words much quicker than those who write in print. This speedy understanding leads to better language processing, which is a critical element when it comes to mastering spelling.

2. Your child will likely be able to form words more easily.

Cursive encourages kids to visualize each letter as one united word, which makes it easier for children to remember — or memorize — the word they’re forming and writing. Researchers also note that kids are less likely to write letters backwards when writing in cursive: When writing in cursive, if a child were to write the letter backwards, they wouldn’t be able to tie it to the letter that follows.

3. Your child could become a better writer overall.

Kids that write in cursive don’t just form words more easily, they also write better sentences. Researchers found that kids who learned and wrote in cursive experienced an increase in skills related to syntax. This means that cursive writers often have a better understanding of how words should be organized and combined to craft strong phrases and complex sentences.