Public school students will be required to learn cursive writing this year, as a bill by Franklinton Senator Beth Mizell went into effect on July 1.

Mizell’s bill passed during last year’s legislative session, but it didn’t take effect right away. She says this gave school systems more time to prepare.

“As of this school year, kids across the state, if they don’t already, will have some knowledge of how to write their names in cursive and do all those things that we take for granted right now,” Mizell said.

Mizell says she’s visited about 15 schools since passing the legislation last year. She says the kids she’s spoken with are excited about learning how to write in cursive. She’s especially thrilled these kids will be able to sign their names.

“That was comforting and surprising. They thought it was a good thing. They wanted to know how to sign their names. They wanted to know what most of us take for granted in having a signature,” Mizell said.

The law requires students to be taught cursive writing by the third grade, but it does not outline how long teachers should spend on the matter. Mizell says she wanted to leave that up to the school districts and the teachers.

“So that teachers could do what they saw fit in incorporating that into the school curriculum. I think that made the teachers a little more willing to put it in the curriculum,” Mizell said.

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