ASSEMBLY, No. 1754

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2020 SESSION

 


 

Sponsored by:

Assemblywoman  ANGELA V. MCKNIGHT

District 31 (Hudson)

Assemblyman  RONALD S. DANCER

District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)

Assemblyman  RALPH R. CAPUTO

District 28 (Essex)

 

Co-Sponsored by:

Assemblywomen Reynolds-Jackson, Timberlake and Downey

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     Requires instruction on cursive handwriting in public school curriculum.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.

  


An Act concerning instruction on cursive handwriting in the public school curriculum and supplementing chapter 35 of Title 18A of the New Jersey Statutes.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    A school district shall incorporate instruction on cursive handwriting into the curriculum for students in elementary schools.  The curriculum shall include activities and instructional materials that help students become proficient in reading cursive and writing in cursive legibly by the end of the third grade.

 

     2.    This act shall take effect immediately and shall first apply to the first full school year following the date of enactment.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill requires a school district to incorporate instruction on cursive handwriting into the curriculum for students in elementary schools.  The curriculum will include activities and instructional materials that help students become proficient in reading cursive and writing in cursive legibly by the end of the third grade.

     Some research suggests that learning to read and write in cursive benefits the development of cognitive, motor, and literacy skills.  In addition, instruction in cursive handwriting has been associated with improved academic outcomes for students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia.