California Gov. signed new law requiring cursive writing units in schools

Gavin Newsom, California Governor, signed California Assembly Bill 446 effectively requiring cursive writing to be taught in schools across the state for grades first through sixth. This amends the state’s education code to include “instruction in cursive or joined italics in the appropriate grade levels.”

While California is the latest to add cursive back into its educational standards, there are 17 other states that have laws requiring cursive to be taught according to USA Today. This includes many southern states in the U.S., however, Michigan is not on the docket. The law is intended to give students the benefit of being able to read primary source historical documents and ensure the skill that is widely out-of-practice except for legal signatures not be lost.

The amending of this law draws the educational status of other states into question. In Michigan, cursive writing and reading were discontinued in public schools in 2010. However, it does remain a requirement in many Michigan Catholic schools despite cursive instruction not being mandated in Michigan’s public schools.

“Teaching cursive in our schools not only has a historical significance but it also promotes discipline, and patience as students learn to form each individual letter and then connect them in words,” Grand Rapids Catholic Schools Assistant Superintendent Sarah Grey said to the Detroit Free Press.

Not teaching cursive in schools has left many children in the state without the ability to write their own signatures. It remains to be seen if Michigan will follow suit, though many feel strongly they should.

Global travel alerts are issued for U.S. citizens.

The U.S. Department of State issued an advisory for “Worldwide Caution.” They cited “increased tensions” globally to be the cause of warnings issued for overseas travel. The worldwide advisory asked citizens to “exercise increased caution” according to Global News.

The government said there were concerns over the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against citizens or U.S. interests. However, Matthew Miller, the Spokesperson for the United States Department of State, said there was no specific cause for the warning.

“We’re monitoring conditions around the world, we’re monitoring conditions in the region, we take a number of factors into consideration when making that determination. It’s not necessarily one thing but everything that we’re watching around the world,” Miller said to Global News.

This travel advisory was announced just one day following the warnings against all travel to Lebanon, with fears of the conflicts in Israel, Gaza and the West Bank spreading further in the region.