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Bill

A 5368

Relates to damaged, defective or duplicated ballots

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Brian Cunningham

Requires New Jersey districts to include cursive handwriting in K-5 and ensure students read and write cursive proficiently by end of grade 3, effective immediately.

REFERRED TO ELECTION LAW
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Bill Summary · A 5368

Summary of Bill A 5368

Note on discrepancy: The bill’s header references “Relates to damaged, defective or duplicated ballots,” but the introduced version and statement describe mandatory cursive handwriting instruction in New Jersey public schools. The summary below focuses on the introduced content about cursive handwriting. The record also shows conflicting committee referrals (Education vs. Election Law) which may reflect a clerical error in the docket.

Purpose and intent

  • Require school districts to incorporate instruction on cursive handwriting into the elementary curriculum (grades K–5).
  • Goal: ensure students become proficient in reading cursive and writing cursive legibly by the end of grade 3.
  • Rationale presented: cursive instruction is linked in some research to benefits in cognitive, motor, and literacy development, with potential positive effects for students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia.

Key provisions

  • Section 1 — Curriculum requirement
    • Each school district must integrate cursive handwriting instruction into the K–5 curriculum.
    • The curriculum must include activities and instructional materials that promote proficiency in reading cursive and legible cursive writing.
    • Proficiency target: by the end of grade 3.
  • Section 2 — Effective date
    • The act takes effect immediately.
    • Application begins with the first full school year after enactment.

Implementation and requirements

  • District-level responsibility to adopt and deliver a cursive curriculum across all elementary schools.
  • Curriculum design must ensure students reach the stated proficiency by the end of third grade.
  • No explicit funding or budget authorization is stated in the introduced text; districts would likely need to allocate resources for materials and teacher professional development.

Who is affected

  • Public school districts in New Jersey
  • Students in kindergarten through fifth grade
  • Elementary school teachers and curriculum coordinators
  • School administrators responsible for curriculum adoption and alignment with state standards

Legislative history and related measures

  • Introduced: February 25, 2025
  • Primary sponsor: Brian Cunningham
  • Companion bill: S 1783
  • Reported actions (in the provided record) show references to both “REFERRED TO ELECTION LAW” and “REFERRED TO ASSEMBLY EDUCATION,” indicating a possible clerical inconsistency in the docket.
  • Status: listed as REFERRED, with conflicting committee referrals in the record.

Practical considerations

  • Administrative: districts would need to review or develop a cursive curriculum, select materials, and schedule training.
  • Educational impact: aims to standardize early handwriting instruction and establish a clear proficiency milestone by grade 3.
  • Oversight: no evaluation metrics or assessment tools are specified beyond the target proficiency.

If you’d like, I can compare this bill to the companion S 1783 or provide a brief risk/benefit assessment based on typical cursive instruction implementations.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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