GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A bill recently introduced to the state legislature by Rep. Brenda Carter would task the state with putting together an educational plan for teaching cursive, giving districts the ability to implement the plan beginning in 2024.
Michigan House Bill 4064 was introduced by Rep. Carter back on February 1, 2023.
"Giving the school districts and ISPs the option to implement cursive writing in their schools was based on a conversation I was having with key stakeholders in my district about their children, who couldn't read or write in cursive," Rep. Carter told FOX 17 on Thursday. "They were concerned that they couldn't even sign their names if they had to sign for a birth certificate, or sign for any any type of legal document."
If passed, the bill would amend the state's school code to allow the Michigan Department of Education to develop a program for teaching cursive in schools.
The department would be asked to develop the program no later than August 1, 2024.
School districts would be able to begin implementing it into their curriculum beginning with the 2024/2025 school year.