Starting in 2017, Louisiana students will learn cursive writing in 3rd grade—and they’ll keep getting instruction on it through graduation.
A bill signed by Gov. John Bel Edwards last month applies to both traditional public schools and charter schools. State lawmakers that supported the measure cited students’ ability to write their names and to read documents written in cursive, such as the U.S. Constitution.
The Common Core State Standards, which have caused controversy in Louisiana, do not require teaching handwriting, though states are welcome to add it. Louisiana recently adopted a new set of standards to replace the common core, but the two sets of standards are nearly identical in many ways.
