States That Require Cursive Writing (2026)
A complete 50-state guide to cursive handwriting requirements in US public schools: which states mandate it by law or by standards, with bill numbers and grade levels.
Last updated: October 16, 2026 · Methodology: verified against state statutes, legislative records and state department of education standards. Two states are marked under review pending re-verification.
27 states require some form of cursive handwriting instruction in public schools: 20 by state law and 7 more through state board of education academic standards. Cursive largely vanished after the 2010 Common Core standards omitted it — since 2016, state legislatures have been bringing it back, with new mandates in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Idaho and Florida in 2025–2026 alone.
The 50-state cursive legislation matrix
Every state, classified by how (or whether) it requires cursive. Statute and bill references link to the source where available.
| State | Requirement | Statute / Bill | Grades | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Mandatory by Statute | Ala. Code § 16-40-10 (Lexi's Law, 2016) | Grade 3 | Lexi's Law requires cursive proficiency by end of 3rd grade. |
| Alaska | Local Option | N/A | N/A | No statewide cursive mandate identified in Oct 2026 research; district discretion. |
| Arizona | State Standard | Arizona ELA Standards (A.A.C. R7-2-301) | By grade 5 | State academic standards require cursive by grade 5; no legislature statute. |
| Arkansas | Mandatory by Statute | Ark. Code Ann. § 6-16-149 | Grade 3 | Public schools must teach cursive; on every 2024-2026 roundup list. |
| California | Mandatory by Statute | Cal. Educ. Code § 51210 (AB 446, 2023) | Grades 1–6 | AB 446 requires handwriting instruction including cursive or joined italics; effective Jan 1, 2024. |
| Colorado | Local Option | N/A | N/A | No statewide cursive mandate identified in Oct 2026 research; district discretion. |
| Connecticut | Local Option | N/A | N/A | No statewide cursive mandate identified in Oct 2026 research; district discretion. |
| Delaware | Mandatory by Statute | Del. Code Ann. tit. 14, § 4141 | Grade 3 | On every 2024-2026 roundup list; code section per industry trackers (not independently pulled from Del. Code). |
| Florida | Mandatory by Statute | SB 182 (2026) | Grades 3–5 | Signed by Gov. DeSantis 4/20/2026, effective 7/1/2026; students must demonstrate cursive proficiency by end of grade 5. Previously B.E.S.T. standards only (no proficiency requirement). |
| Georgia | State Standard | Georgia Standards of Excellence (ELA) | By grade 4 | State standards mandate cursive; no legislature statute found. |
| Hawaii | Local Option | N/A | N/A | No statewide cursive mandate identified in Oct 2026 research; district discretion. |
| Idaho | Mandatory by Statute | SB 1044 (2025) | Start by grade 3; proficient by end of grade 5 | Passed March 2025: public schools 'shall require proficiency in cursive handwriting by end of grade 5'. |
| Illinois | Mandatory by Statute | 105 Ill. Comp. Stat. 5/27-22.4 | By grade 5 | Mandated in public elementary curricula by legislation. |
| Indiana | Mandatory by Statute | Ind. Code § 20-30-5-7.5 | Grades 2–4 | Long-standing cursive mandate (originally HB 1640 lineage). |
| Iowa | State Standard | Iowa Core ELA Standards (state board rule) | Grades 2–3 | No legislature statute; requirement comes via state board standards — cursive introduced grade 2, mastered grade 3. |
| Kansas | Recommended | KS State Board of Education handwriting curricular standards (2013) | Grades 3–6 | Board adopted formal cursive benchmarks and 'strongly encourages' schools, but compliance is explicitly NOT mandatory — districts have final say. |
| Kentucky | Mandatory by Statute | SB 167 (2024); Ky. Rev. Stat. § 158.6453 | By grade 5 | Requires cursive as a course of study in all elementary schools beginning 2025-26 school year. |
| Louisiana | Mandatory by Statute | La. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 17:266 | Grades 3–12 | Requires cursive instruction beginning grade 3 with ongoing practice through grade 12; proficiency testing in grades 3-4. |
| Maine | Local Option | N/A | N/A | LD 387 (2019-2020) did not pass; 2025-2026 bill (LD 78) died in the Senate. No statewide requirement in effect. |
| Maryland | State Standard | Md. Code Regs. 13A.04.14 (COMAR) | By end of grade 5 | Requirement comes via state regulation (COMAR), not a legislature-passed statute: public elementary schools must provide instruction leading to legible cursive by end of grade 5. |
| Massachusetts | State Standard | MA Curriculum Frameworks (603 CMR 2.00) | By grade 5 | Curriculum frameworks include legible cursive requirements; no legislature statute found. |
| Michigan | Recommended | HB 4064 (2023) — did NOT become law | N/A | House passed 103-4 as encouragement only (2023); Senate never took it up. MDE supports optional cursive curriculum. No mandate. |
| Minnesota | Local Option | N/A | N/A | Current ELA standards include no cursive benchmark; districts decide. |
| Mississippi | Mandatory by Statute | Miss. Code Ann. § 37-13-10 | Grades 2–5 | Mandates students write a complete passage in cursive. |
| Missouri | Under Review | Missouri Learning Standards (2016), ELA | Grades 2–3 | BORDERLINE — standard says 'write legibly (print, cursive)' for grades 2-3: cursive is named but print also satisfies. No law; mandate bills (Rep. Bangert's, 6+ years; HB 1876/2026) repeatedly failed. News coverage calls it 'merely an expectation, not a requirement.' Flag for review — could arguably be Local Option. |
| Montana | Local Option | N/A | N/A | No statewide cursive mandate identified in Oct 2026 research; district discretion. |
| Nebraska | Local Option | N/A | N/A | Appears on older (~2016) 14-state lists but no current mandate evidence found in Oct 2026 research. |
| Nevada | Local Option | N/A | N/A | No statewide cursive mandate identified in Oct 2026 research; district discretion. |
| New Hampshire | Mandatory by Statute | N.H. Rev. Stat. Ann. § 189:11-a (HB 170) | Grades 3–5 | Requires cursive (and multiplication table) instruction. |
| New Jersey | Mandatory by Statute | P.L. 2025, c.284 | Grades 3–5 | Signed by Gov. Murphy 1/19/2026; applies starting 2026-27 school year. |
| New Mexico | Local Option | N/A | N/A | No statewide cursive mandate identified in Oct 2026 research; district discretion. |
| New York | Local Option | N/A | N/A | NYSED: 'the decision to teach cursive writing is a local school district decision.' NYC DOE (2017): handbooks issued but 'certainly not a mandate.' Bills (Sen. Scarcella-Spanton's) repeatedly failed for a decade. |
| North Carolina | Mandatory by Statute | N.C. Gen. Stat. § 115C-81.40 | Grades 3–5 | 'Back to Basics' statute mandates cursive penmanship. |
| North Dakota | Local Option | N/A | N/A | No statewide cursive mandate identified in Oct 2026 research; district discretion. |
| Ohio | Mandatory by Statute | Ohio Rev. Code Ann. § 3301.0726 (HB 58) | Grades K–5 | State Department of Education provides K-5 cursive materials. |
| Oklahoma | Mandatory by Statute | Okla. Stat. tit. 70, § 11-103.6h (HB 1617) | Grades 3–5 | Mandatory instruction until students write legibly by grade 5. |
| Oregon | Local Option | N/A | N/A | No statewide cursive mandate identified in Oct 2026 research; district discretion. |
| Pennsylvania | Mandatory by Statute | HB 17, Act 2 of 2026 | Elementary (grade band per PDE guidance, pending as of Sept 2026) | Approved 2/11/2026, effective 4/12/2026; requires 'instruction in cursive handwriting or joined italics' in public and private schools. |
| Rhode Island | Local Option | N/A | N/A | Bills introduced 2019 (S 0403), 2020 (S 2461), 2022 (HB 7606 — held for further study); none enacted. No mandate. |
| South Carolina | Mandatory by Statute | S.C. Code Ann. § 59-29-230 | Grades 2–5 | Requires reading and writing cursive by end of elementary school. |
| South Dakota | Local Option | N/A | N/A | No statewide cursive mandate identified in Oct 2026 research; district discretion. |
| Tennessee | Mandatory by Statute | Tenn. Code Ann. § 49-6-1019 | Grades 2–4 | Law plus detailed standards: 2nd grade letter formation, 3rd grade mastery, 4th grade 'write legibly in cursive'. |
| Texas | State Standard | 19 Tex. Admin. Code § 110.13 (TEKS) | From grade 2 | TEKS is a State Board of Education rule (Texas Administrative Code), NOT a legislature-passed statute — classified as State Standard. Requires cursive writing starting grade 2. |
| Utah | Under Review | Utah Core Standards | Grades 3–5 | UNVERIFIED — cited on older state lists as requiring cursive via core standards, but current Utah Core Standards language NOT independently confirmed. NEEDS RECHECK before publishing. |
| Vermont | Local Option | N/A | N/A | No statewide cursive mandate identified in Oct 2026 research; district discretion. |
| Virginia | State Standard | VA Standards of Learning (8 Va. Admin. Code § 20-131-70) | Grades 2–4 | SOL mandates cursive starting grade 2; no legislature statute. |
| Washington | Local Option | N/A | N/A | No statewide cursive mandate identified in Oct 2026 research; district discretion. |
| West Virginia | Mandatory by Statute | W. Va. Code § 18-2-9 | Grades 2–4 | Mandates elementary instruction in cursive penmanship. |
| Wisconsin | Local Option | N/A | N/A | No statewide cursive mandate identified in Oct 2026 research; district discretion. |
| Wyoming | Local Option | N/A | N/A | No statewide cursive mandate identified in Oct 2026 research; district discretion. |
Why cursive instruction matters
Research on handwriting and literacy (including fMRI studies on the reading circuit) suggests that forming letters by hand — print or cursive — engages the brain differently than typing. Cursive in particular is often cited as supporting letter recognition fluency and helping students with dyslexia, who benefit from the continuous stroke and distinct letterforms.
Frequently asked questions
Is cursive still taught in schools?
Yes. As of October 2026, 27 states require some form of cursive handwriting instruction in public schools — 20 by state statute and 7 through state academic standards. Two more states are under review. The trend has been upward since 2016, when only 14 states required it.
How many states require cursive writing in 2026?
27 states. 20 require it by state law (for example, Alabama's "Lexi's Law", California's AB 446, Pennsylvania's Act 2 of 2026), and 7 more require it through state board of education academic standards. See the 50-state table below for the full list with bill numbers.
Why did schools stop teaching cursive?
Cursive largely disappeared after the Common Core State Standards (2010) omitted cursive handwriting, leaving the decision to states and districts. Since about 2016, state legislatures have been reversing that — more than a dozen states have passed cursive mandates since then, including Florida (SB 182, 2026) and New Jersey (2026–27 school year).
What grades teach cursive writing?
Most state mandates target grades 1–5, with the core instruction band in grades 2–3. For example, Alabama requires cursive proficiency by the end of grade 3, and Florida's 2026 law covers grades 3–5. Check the table below for each state's grade band.
Where can I get free cursive practice worksheets?
WorksheetPad's free cursive worksheet generator makes printable joined-script practice sheets — type any words or names, trace or copy, no sign-up. It pairs well with classroom cursive instruction in any of the states above.
Free cursive practice worksheets
Teaching cursive this year? Generate free cursive worksheets: type any words or student names, print trace-and-copy sheets in seconds. No sign-up, no watermark.