Kansas Board of Ed. To Address Handwriting Standards

Kansas State Board of Education members will decide this week whether the state’s new handwriting standards will encourage schools to make sure that fifth- and sixth-graders can write legibly in cursive.

The handwriting standards are on the board’s agenda for a Tuesday meeting.

State law requires the board to regularly update academic standards.

Multistate academic standards adopted by Kansas in 2010 would require schools to teach young students cursive. Some educators question whether it’s a necessary skill, when people are using computer and cellphone keyboards more in communicating.

But cursive has its advocates, and a handful of states including Kansas have moved to include teaching it in their academic standards.

The board will also review proposed standards for theater programs.