Murphy signs bill bringing cursive writing back to New Jersey classrooms
By: Shore News Network | Published: 2026-01-19 22:44:59 | Source: www.shorenewsnetwork.com
TRENTON, NJ – Governor Phil Murphy has signed legislation requiring the return of cursive handwriting instruction in New Jersey’s public schools, reinstating a traditional skill that had largely disappeared from classrooms over the past decade.
The new law, S1783/A3865, mandates that school districts incorporate cursive instruction into the curriculum for students in grades three through five. The requirement takes effect immediately and will apply to the next full school year.
The move reverses years of declining cursive instruction that followed the 2010 adoption of the Common Core State Standards, which removed handwriting from its framework. New Jersey now joins several other states, including California and New Hampshire, in restoring cursive lessons, citing both…
