House Bill 58, which passed the Ohio Senate 27-2 on Thursday, would require the Ohio Department of Education to create instructional materials on handwriting through the fifth grade. The goal of the materials: students should be able to print letters legibly by the end of third grade and write in cursive by the end of fifth grade.
The proposal initially required cursive be taught in schools. Now, it would be an option as soon as the 2019-2020 school year.
More than a dozen other states are reinstating cursive lessons in schools. Many states stopped teaching the writing style after adopting national Common Core curriculum standards, which did not require students to learn the handwriting style.
Cursive proponents say it's about more than signing checks. The writing helps develop fine motor skills. Reading cursive is key to comprehending the nation's historical documents, such as the U.S. Constitution.
The Ohio House of Representatives must approve a small change before sending the bill to Gov. John Kasich for his signature.
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