Rauner vetoes cursive bill, citing ‘unfunded mandate’

http://www.bnd.com/news/local/article174909606.html

SPRINGFIELD, IL – (Elizabeth Donald, Belleville News Democrat.  Please click on the link above.  Here is an excerpt below.)

Endless hours tracing loops on the page to learn cursive writing may or may not be on the way out, but they won’t be required by state law.

Gov. Bruce Rauner has vetoed a bill that would have required all elementary schools to teach cursive writing before fifth grade. The governor vetoed the bill on Friday, pointing out that money for the curriculum was not included in the bill.

“This legislation constitutes yet another unfunded mandate for school districts that will not protect the health or safety of Illinois students,” Rauner said in his veto message. “If the General Assembly believes that cursive writing instruction should be required in elementary schools because it will improve student outcomes, it should be included in the Illinois State Learning Standards and funded accordingly.”