HAWLEY, PA—State Representative Joe Adams (R-Wayne/Pike) plans to introduce legislation to require that cursive handwriting to be taught in Pennsylvania schools.

“In an increasingly digital world, cursive has fallen by the wayside,” Adams said in his proposal revealed on December 13. “However, there are compelling cognitive, developmental, and practical reasons for ensuring students have at least a basic grasp of cursive writing.”

He cited studies that say improved hand-eye coordination and better critical thinking were among the benefits of learning cursive. And by creating a written self-identity that can separate human work from that of artificial intelligence, it stymies plagiarism, he said.

He said least 18 states require the teaching of cursive, including Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Adams called cursive a “foundational and functionally relevant skill.” 

“Being able to write and read cursive is a fundamental and necessary skill for everyone to learn," Adams said, "Our founding documents like the Constitution and Declaration of Independence are written in cursive. People sign their names in cursive, and official documents often require writing in cursive to memorialize business. When students are no longer taught how to read and write in cursive, they find themselves unprepared to learn from our history or be engaged in conducting business across the commonwealth."