Oklahoma Legislature passes bill requiring teaching of cursive, beginning next school year

OKLAHOMA CITY — Cursive is scheduled to make a comeback in all of Oklahoma’s elementary schools this fall.

The Senate approved a House bill this week mandating the teaching of cursive to students in grades three through five, beginning with the 2024-2025 school year. Senate approval means the measure now goes to Gov. Kevin Stitt for his signature.

The bill, which had overwhelming support from both the House and Senate, specifies each school district and charter school shall provide instruction in cursive handwriting for students in the third through fifth grades, with instruction designed to “enable students to demonstrate competency in reading cursive and legibly writing in cursive by the end of fifth grade.” The bill came with an emergency clause, meaning the measure becomes effective July 1.

The measure means school districts will have to introduce a subject that hasn’t been mandated in classrooms for years (although some schools, including those in Lawton, teach it) and older Americans joke cursive is a skill so rare, it is actually a “secret code” only people of a certain age can crack.

Rep. Jason Lowe, D-Oklahoma City, the House principal author, said learning cursive has been proven to help improve grammar and spelling, and also argues youth should have the ability to read cursive to access things such as historical documents. Educators have said many youth today cannot read historic documents — such as the Declaration of Independence — in their original form because they were written in cursive.

Sen. Kevin Matthews, D-Tulsa, said cursive is a necessary skill that benefits youth in multiple ways.

“Even though children are learning keyboarding from an early age, there is still a need for instruction in cursive handwriting,” Matthews said in a statement. “Research tells us it can improve children’s motor skills, improve neural connections, and encourage faster writing speed. It reinforces learning and can enhance intelligence.”

Both men noted the measure passed the House and Senate with bipartisan support. The House passed the measure on a 90 to 8 vote in March, while the Senate approved it Tuesday on a 38 to 8 vote.

The measure would not go into effect without Stitt’s signature.