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Minnesota senator wants cursive to make a comeback • Minnesota Reformer [1]

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Date: 2026-03 

It makes documents poetic. It strengthens hand-eye coordination. And, hundreds of years ago, “it was a mark of an educated person.”

That’s how Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, described cursive handwriting during a 20-minute monologue Monday about why Minnesota students should learn how to read and write in the loopy script that is nearing extinction. On top of its cognitive benefits, a good knowledge of cursive is also personal for the 83-year-old senator.

“I gave what I thought was a really nice birthday card to my — must’ve been 14 at the time — grandson. He handed it back to me and said, ‘Grandma, I can’t read this.’ I had to sit there and read to him,” Rest told members of the Senate Education Policy Committee.

Minnesota had a cursive teaching requirement until 2010 when the state adopted new English academic standards. Cursive is now optional for school districts. Twenty-four states require schools to teach cursive.

Rest is now proposing a bill (SF 173) that requires Minnesota students to “develop legible cursive handwriting skills by the end of grade 5.” She proposed similar legislation in 2019.

Rest presented the senators Monday with an image of the Declaration of Independence to highlight that the Founding Fathers wrote it in loopy cursive.

Education Policy Committee Chair Sen. Steve Cwodzinski, DFL-Eden Prairie, said that before Monday’s hearing began, he asked two young interns to look at the Declaration of Independence and find John Hancock’s name. Cwodzinski said they failed to do so, and one blamed ignorance of cursive.

Rest said that the instruction of cursive is important because it’s faster to write and improves cognitive function. Many Minnesota schools today have prioritized typing, she said, adding that many in Generation Z can’t read cursive.

“We might first have to teach the teachers,” Rest said, referring to Gen Z educators.

Research suggests that cursive activates different parts of the brain compared to typing or printed handwriting. This can help cognitive growth. Proponents argue that cursive can help students connect with history, as many letters and historical documents were written in cursive.

Many schools have stopped teaching cursive because it’s becoming less important in the digital era, and teachers already have full curricula.

Sen. Julia Coleman, R-Waconia, said she’s disappointed students aren’t learning cursive, but she worried that mandating it might be costly for schools.

Senators on Monday laid the bill over for possible inclusion in a later bill.

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[1] Url: https://minnesotareformer.com/briefs/minnesota-senator-wants-cursive-to-make-a-comeback/

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