With A Bit Of A Flourish, Cursive Handwriting Returns For Elementary School Students

By Brinda Patel

NJ State House News Service

After more than a decade of clicking keyboards, students will be required to put pen to paper once again as cursive writing makes a comeback in public schools. 

In his final hours in office, Governor Phil Murphy signed S1783/A3865 into law, requiring all school districts to reintroduce cursive handwriting instruction at the start of the 2026-2027 school year.

“The return to including cursive instruction is especially meaningful as New Jersey celebrates the upcoming 250th anniversary of our country’s founding – giving our students the skills they need to read our nation’s founding documents and complete tasks like opening a bank account or signing a check, in addition to offering cognitive benefits,” Murphy said. “We owe it to our students to give them a well-rounded education that ensures they have the tools to fully understand our rich history and become competent leaders.”

Handwriting has been linked in several academic studies to fine motor skill development and academic success in the earliest grades. While writing in cursive, students strengthen their muscle memory and dexterity while joining letters in continuous flow, studies show. 

The legislation – which last week passed the Senate 39-0 and the Assembly 73-1 –  is designed to help students become proficient in reading and writing in cursive by the end of fifth grade. 

Classroom activities will cover reading uppercase and lowercase cursive letters, spacing while writing names and full sentences legibly, and interpreting fully handwritten U.S. documents such as the Constitution.

Cursive education has been a source of debate in state legislatures after The Common Core State Standards emphasized keyboard literacy in 2010, starting at the third grade level, omitting handwriting from the elementary school curriculum. 

Some school districts, including Burlington, Hamilton and Cherry Hill, returned to teaching cursive in their curriculum before the legislation passed. 

Quiana Starr, a Mercer County resident and parent of two children with a 14-year age gap, said she started teaching her children to write in cursive for personal reasons. 

Her daughter, now 24, was given cursive homework for extra credit when she was in elementary school. However, her current fifth grader has not received cursive instruction in school. Starr felt it was necessary to teach cursive to her daughter and son so they could read birthday and congratulatory cards from their 88-year-old great-grandmother.

“I am very excited that this bill is passing as cursive is a necessary skill which adds in creativity, memory, spelling and connection to previous generations,” Starr said.

The bill sponsors praised Murphy’s signing of the bill, as well as bipartisan support.

“I was grateful and encouraged to see both sides of the aisle vote to revive cursive writing in our schools. We all want to support our students today so they can be better adults tomorrow,” said Sen. Angela McKnight, a Jersey City Democrat.

“We know that learning cursive can offer many cognitive benefits and knowing how to sign your name on documents like mortgages and bank papers is an essential life skill,” said Assemblywoman Verlina Reynolds-Jackson, a Trenton Democrat. 

New Jersey joins 25 states that have mandated a return to cursive handwriting in public schools.